Creating A Kitchen Garden

In early March when I was beginning to believe that this pandemic could get really bad I decided to start my own "kitchen garden." While we have plenty of space for a big garden, time is not on my side between work, horses and farm chores.  A small one would have to do. I was worried also about not being able to get fresh produce (and this still worries me) and wanted to have access to my own produce later in the summer.

My guide for this project has been this book, Kitchen Garden Revival by Nicole Johnsey Burke.

The book tells you how to do everything - from selecting a site, creating a plan, it even shows you how to figure the monetary breakdown of how much money you can save or make with a garden space by size.  

Raised beds?  Shows you how to make them. Soil? Analyzes the different kinds.  Tools you'll need? Checklist. There are charts that show you which plants grow in the cool season, the warm season. Everything is covered here.  I do not have a green thumb so this will be my Bible, my guide this summer as I try to tackle this new project.

Here is a picture of my garden right now.  It has not been planted yet as we had frost two days this week.  I plan to surround my space with boxwood and lavender.  There is a local farm that sells lavender (so we'll visit this weekend with proper social distancing).  The boxwoods may have to wait. We have a lot of rock here so somehow I'll work around that.  And my soil is actually compost from my compost pit. I'll likely add a little fresh soil to it before I plant. Stay tuned. Try your own small garden this summer. We have lots of free time!