If I could find a positive outcome of my arm injury this summer, it is that I reclaimed the patios around our house. I would look out and sigh at the mess it had all become, but getting started on it never happened until I couldn’t work in the big gardens on the homestead. And suddenly, I had the time to get going on the mess just outside our home.
Seeing this area become liveable has brought me a lot of happiness.
Part 1 is when I found a tool that let me go from “I can’t” to “Wow!”.
In part 2, we did the upper patios and started moving plants up from the lower gardens to around the house.
That is when I noticed something. Nearly every plant I brought up suddenly grew faster and better than the ones down below in the homesteading gardens. This summer has been a struggle; so far, not a single night has been over 59*. In-ground growth is highly affected by that. Up on the patios, the paver stones bake in the sun all afternoon and radiate heat as night settles back into the plants. Our strawberry crop has boomed due to the extra warmth.
I have had one lonely 8-foot raised bed by the lower patio that I often ignored over the years. However, since my injury, I paid attention to it this summer.
It’s been highly productive this year and is still putting on peas, even at the end of August. A huge mess of Swiss Chard and four tomatoes also grow in it; all are doing great in this off-summer.
After the growing season is over, my plan is to tear it down (it is made with excess paver blocks I found in the woods), remove the soil, and store it. Then, I will put 4 to 6 raised beds next to the lower patio in a grassy area next to it. I have decided I need a “kitchen garden” to walk out to and harvest easily from. With moving up all the potted alpine strawberries, I have noticed how everyone is eating them. It’s right outside the house, so whenever people walk by, they get nibbled on. Convenience trumps for sure.
To add to this, I had seen a plant stand on Amazon for under $34. At that price point, I figured I would try it out.
Alistaire opened the compact box and assembled it in 15 minutes or so. It was very easy to put together and seems of decent quality. I found another version without the hanging part that I am considering getting so I can stack the plants up high and have more growing. It’s 5 foot 4 inches in height, and yes, it has occurred to me that it would be great for use in a greenhouse as well.
More dreaming, planning, and getting projects done in the dwindling days of summer as fall approaches.
~Sarah