PathtoFreedom.com: A Real Inspiration

PathtoFreedom.com: "Our objective is to live as sustainably and self-sufficiently as possible in an urban environment in harmony with nature and each other, while also inspiring others to think globally, act locally. Our homestead supports four adults, who live and work full time on a 66 x 132 city lot (1/5 acre). "

This site is full of great stuff on all kinds of things: organic gardening, chickens, do it yourself projects, getting-off-the-grid projects, plus a blog, photos, and more. Check it out.

Newspaper Seed Starter Pots

Newspaper Seed Starter Pots. If you start your plants from seeds indoors to get a jump start on the growing season, you might spend a lot of money on something to grow those seeds in. Here are some instructions for making paper pots out of newspaper. Transplant your seeds right into the ground. The paper will decompose readily.

Composting the Easy Way

I've been composting for years and it still surprises me when people get nervous about it. I'm a lazy composter. I typically have two piles going at a time, one that I'm adding to and one that's "cooking." These are in two homemade bins that sit back near my raised vegetable beds so it's easy to both add new stuff to the active pile and take out fresh compost from the "done" pile.

I add my lawn clippings, kitchen waste, leaves from the yard and most, but not all, of my vegetable garden trimmings. I try not to put in weeds because I tend to do a slow pile that probably doesn't reach a hot enough temperature to kill off the weed seeds. I also shred up old newspapers periodically and add those to the pile if I'm short of "brown-like" stuff. I also put in the rabbit droppings and shavings.

Yesterday I started a new pile, my third now. I have a row of fruit trees. Ivy used to be growing in between them and I just this year had it removed, so now I've just got bare soil there. I'd like to grow something eventually, some fruit tree friendly ground cover, but I'm not yet sure what that will be. My thought is that in the meantime I can enrich the soil a bit by building some smaller compost piles around there and turn them in a bit when things have decomposed. If nothing else, it should help keep the weeds down and, hopefully, smother any ivy that tries to pop back up.

There's a parallel here between my love of making chicken or turkey broth. There's something about taking what most people throw away and creating something that those same people will turn around and buy. They call compost black gold. And it sure has benefited my vegetable garden. Now I need to see if I can make enough to help out the rest of the yard, too!

Planting Garlic

I finally got most of my garlic planted over the last couple of days.

First, I had to remove the old worn-out squash vines from my biggest raised bed. Then I added some compost and rototilled it in. I marked off rough rows by just laying down the handle of my shovel.

You have to separate the garlic bulb into individual cloves for planting. I found it easiest to do that part ahead of time, throwing the excess dry papery skins into the compost pile of course. I put the individual cloves into a plastic pot I'd saved, so I could carry them easily.

I planted them about 2" deep, 4" apart and made the rows about 15" apart. That's a bit closer than the books say but I think they'll work just fine. I've done them before as just front rows to other crops, running at right angles and they've done great. This time I had space to give them a bed of their own, for now. You plant garlic flat side (root side) down, pointy side up. After covering them with soil, I added another layer of compost for mulch.

I still had some garlic left after all this. Actually, the bed I had took care of most of the California white garlic I bought, although I saved a bulb to give to a friend for planting. But I needed to find somewhere else for the Roja garlic. I turned to my front yard and cleared some bark and began rototilling in the "flower" bed between my and my neighbor's driveways. Whoa! I'd forgotten there was red lava rock and junipers in there when we moved in. But as soon as I started tilling the lava rock came up to the surface. I raked off as much as I could easily, getting a bit tired by this point. I planted a few short rows of the Roja garlic there, but the ground is still pretty hard despite my tilling the top part. And it may not be sunny enough. Rather than risk the whole batch, I just planted two bulbs worth and will find some other space for the rest, perhaps in the lawn border with the flowers. I just read that it's good to plant garlic by roses as it repels some pests. So maybe I'll do that.

Coincidentally, I did move a rose to be nearer to my garlic bed so we'll see how it does. My daughter gave me a gorgeous Joseph's Coat a few years back for Mother's Day but I don't really have a good climbing spot open for it. It's been moved twice before, so perhaps the third time will be the charm. I put it next to one side of my double compost pile. It can climb the sides of that and spread out along the fence I think. It sure brightens up the vegetable garden for now at least!

My Garlic is Here!

Wow! When did I order this? Just a few days ago and I did not pay for expedited shipping or anything. As it turns out, the timing is great though. I have no major plans for the weekend, although we're having another family over for dinner on Saturday.

I wasn't quite sure how much "a pound" of garlic was and that's the unit of measurement you could order. I thought it would be fun to grow two different kinds. So let's just say that one pound would probably have been more than enough! With two pounds, I think I'm going to need to find someone to share this with. Or expand my beds. Or plant garlic in my flower beds, which might work if I till some spaces up for them. I have a little Mantis tiller that I just love for this stuff.

I've grown garlic before but I never knew you should cut off the flowering heads if they form. I've almost had my onions and garlic form some sort of flower. The info sheet that came with my garlic from Pleasant Valley mentioned this, as did a book I'm reading, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. There's always more to learn, that's for sure.

Farmer's Almanac

I'll have to create a links page obviously... There are a ton of cool gardening sites. Here's the Farmer's Alamanac, full of great tips on gardening among other things.

Here's an Organic Gardening site, full of tips, including some tips on planting garlic which I'm about to go read.

The Dirt Doctor has all kinds of advice on organic gardening, including an active forum.

Walking the Neighborhood

Most days I take my dog on a walk around the neighborhood. I have my favorite patterns depending on the time of year. Right now, in the fall here, I like to walk on a road that goes by a creek. On the left I can see the nearly wild areas, the horse chestnuts mixed with the oleander that someone planted, the poppies dying off, the leaves of a variety of trees changing color. The dog gets very excited if there's a squirrel nearby but seems fine with the mourning doves or quail we often see.

If I look across the street, I can see some fine gardens. Nice suburban gardens that often give me ideas. I can see what plants grow well around here and get ideas for different arrangements within a garden. Sometimes I see plants that I used to have and I suddenly realize that for some reason they didn't reseed like they did for a few years. I used to have cosmos and nasturtiums, for example, and they reseeded themselves several years but now suddenly I don't have them anymore.

Today I saw some gorgeous purple climbing vine. It was truly spectacular. I don't have a place for a climbing vine right now but if I did I'd have to find a way to figure out what this plant is because it's so full and lush looking.

I'm always torn. My heart and soul wants to be out in the country somehow, so I tend to look at the creek and ignore the homes because it's a peaceful break and calming. But I live here... and I want my garden to be nice. And looking at the landscaped areas gives me good ideas on what to plant.

When we get back home, I typically go wander in my back yard a bit, just checking on things. Right now I pick a few cherry tomatoes and bring them back to the rabbits for a treat. The dog jumps up on the picnic table back there so she can be eye level with the rabbits and sniff at them. She likes her high spots. I often spread a bit of the rabbit droppings on the roses throughout the week. My roses are gorgeous and I do attribute that a bit to the rabbit droppings and the coffee grounds I throw at the base periodically.

I ordered my garlic!

I visited our local bookstore the other day. I do love the smaller independent bookstores. I admit to enjoying browsing the big chain stores as well. But I always manage to find some unique book in the smaller stores that I doubt I'd find in the larger stores, like Golden Gate Gardening. This book and another I just picked up are re-igniting my garden fever.

I used to regularly plant garlic for my own cooking use. I typically plant in October and harvest in June, leaving the bulbs to lay out a few days and then braiding them for storage, setting aside the largest bulbs for planting again. In this way, you buy a good set of starter garlic bulbs once and after that you're never out any money again. Pretty cool! But somehow I've fallen off the garlic planting wagon and skipped a year or two, so I have none of my own to plant.

One gardener I know just buys garlic bulbs at the grocery store and plants them. They do grow. He has an amazingly large crop each year and his braids look gorgeous. But the flavor of those bulbs is lacking somehow. The garlic doesn't have that bite I like so much. Likewise, I personally don't like elephant garlic. I'll take flavor over size any day! The elephant garlic is much too mild for my taste.

I was going to go to the local nursery, where I bought garlic once before when I'd run out of my own. (I'm an inconsistent gardener obviously!) But I remembered that I'd been disappointed in that crop's flavor as well. The best garlic I grew (for several years in a row) was from some bulbs I ordered from Shepherd's.

Right now I'm reading The Vegetable Gardener's Bible and he has a nice list of resources in the back of the book. I noticed one right up in Grass Valley, just a couple of hours from here, that is all organic: Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply. Their website is well laid out and they have a great "In Season Now" button to take you right to what you should be planting, at least in our neck of the woods. So I ordered some California Late White Garlic, which should store well, and some Spanish Roja Garlic to try something new. I also ordered a few artichoke plants, which I'm going to plant in my flower borders since they're perennial and have quite pretty flowers if you can stand to let one go to bloom.

So now I need to get out back and clear out the last of the squash vines, which have withered and died in the past week. The yellow crookneck zucchini I grew this year was a definite favorite but it's done now and my small pie pumpkins are orange and ready to go as well.

Garden Seeds

Some plants can easily be started from seeds outdoors and others must be babied a bit.

If you're just starting out, you'll probably want to stick to buying small plants rather than fussing with the seeds except for those that sprout easily in your area. Ask your local nursery for advice.

If you want to buy plants that you can't find at your local nursery however, such as heirloom vegetables, seeds are the way to go. You can buy small seed starting kits or make your own newspapers pots. Use some fluorescent lighting to give them the light and warmth they need, raising the lights as the plants grow.

Typically, you want to start your seeds indoors 6-8 weeks prior to planting outside. It can help to create a chart. You can use a simple spreadsheet or a hand-drawn grid, whatever works for you. Note down approximately when you need to transplant outdoors, then work backwards.

Whatever you do, keep a notebook on what you planted when and how well it did. If you have unusual weather conditions you think might have impacted your results, note that down as well. This doesn't have to be anything fancy, although the gorgeous garden journals can be tempting! And if having something pretty to write in encourages you to be more faithful in your note taking, go for it!

The best one I've seen was a ten year garden journal. This would really help you see trends and patterns about your own actual results rather than what you read should happen. Of course, this takes quite a commitment. As with gardening in general, I think the idea of baby-steps works best. Start with a small garden area and start with a simple notebook on a cheap dime store notebook. Note down whatever seems of interest to you, but at the least I would note the date you started seeds indoors and for which varieties of plants, the dates you transplanted outside, the dates you started seeds outdoors, and so forth. Note which varieties produced the earliest flower or vegetable (whatever you're growing) and whether you liked it or not. For vegetables, you might try to keep track of actual yield if that is of interest. It will help you in deciding how many plants you'll need the following year.

Garden Lighting

To get the most out of your garden, try to budget for some outdoor lighting. Rather than the single floodlight that lights up the whole yard in an uncomfortable glare, plan for some subtle mood lighting in various spots, perhaps highlighting a garden statue or fountain. Put some brighter lighting up in your eating and cooking areas so you can see what you're doing.

From solar lights that require minimal installation to motion sensitive security oriented lighting, you'll find today's garden lighting is quite varied and versatile.

I've just put a Japanese maple near my front door. I'd like to install a floodlight eventually to highlight the tree. I think that in all seasons it will add a nice touch. The shadows created against the wall of the house will look pretty no matter whether there are leaves on the tree or not.

In the backyard, I have a simple wall-mounted single bulb outdoor lamp. It is really inadequate garden lighting. I'd like to have some low wattage lights on the ground so I can sit outside and have a conversation with a "glow" around me, yet not be in the spotlight. I should also install some motion-sensor lights but worry about annoying the neighbors. With the fruit trees along the back fence line, I'm sure that the raccoons and possums are frequent visitors and wouldn't want them setting off the lights every night.

The Basics of Garden Design

Most people have an existing framework to design around when they first set out to do a garden. If you're lucky enough to be starting with a blank slate, a brand new yard, you'll have more freedom to create exactly what you want.

Start by listing all the activities you want to be able to do in your yard. If you have children, think about their activities now and as they grow older. If you like to entertain, plan for seating arrangements for extra guests that can either blend into the yard when not in use (like raised seating encircling a mature tree). Think about where you want to cook outside and whether you want a permanent cooking area or portable one. If you like outdoor games such as badminton and croquet, plan an area for that as well.

Pets may also be considered when planning your garden. Many dogs like to perch on top of things while others prefer to have a cozy hideaway. Most animals will walk along paths rather than through your flowers if you give them one.

Observe your shady and sunny spots and how they change throughout the day. Think about where it would be nice to eat outside during different times of the day.

Your plans don't have to be complicated. Start by roughly sketching your yard and just drawing circles labeled with different activities. You might have an eating area, games area, kids' area, and cooking area for example. As you gather more details on what you want, expand the detail.

You can use hoses or flour to mark out lines in your yard to get an idea of how your design will feel. Walk around the area and make adjustments as you think about different things or see how the sun strikes different areas throughout the day.

Garden Decor

Garden decor can be fun, practical, or whimsical. Keep your eyes open for items in unusual places. Garage sales and thrift shops can yield unusual items.

A few tasteful statues in a garden can provide nice focal points for the eyes. You can go with something fun, like animals, or more formal. A pretty birdbath can combine function (for the birds!) with design.

Wind chimes and fountains add the dimension of sound to your garden. You can use sound to cover up distracting neighborhood or traffic noises or just as a soothing relief from the stress of the day.

Change Something Old to Something New

If you're on a budget, here are a few ideas for remaking items into garden decor.

Decorate old bowling balls with a mosaic technique, as shown here on The DIY Network.
About.Com has a nice article on building your own small fountain
Birdhouses and bird feeders can be made at home or purchased inexpensively

About Me

I'm not a professional gardener by any means and I'm definitely still learning a lot.

I do like gardening though and enjoy sharing what I've learned so I created this site. I am partial to perennials and other low-maintenance plants, although I'm not adverse to trying something new either! I work full time and do most of my gardening on the weekends. My own yard includes flower borders, about 14 fruit trees, and a decent vegetable garden (in raised beds).

You can contact me by emailing info @ garden-addiction.com.

Planning your Flower Garden

Most garden designers recommend you pick a palette of 2-3 colors to use in your garden. This is an easy way to get started if you're unsure of things. On the other hand, if you have a strong sense of design and color, you can break the rules a bit and see how it turns out. You can afford to play around a bit with flowers and small shrubs as the cost is not usually exorbitant and if you change your mind, you can move the offensive item or give it away to someone else.

If you're looking for long-lasting color, find out when your favorite plants bloom and plan around that. Pick flowers that bloom at different times so you're not ever left with an empty-looking garden.

Annuals generally bloom for longer periods of time than perennials, however they need to be replanted each year. A bit of time spent mapping out the blooming periods can pay off, giving you a colorful garden for 3 seasons of the year in mild climates, from the first bulbs that pop out in the spring to the final fall show of flowers.

Some plants require regular deadheading, or cutting off of the spent (dead) flowers in order to rebloom. Shrub roses typically offer long lasting blooms as well and they're not as fussy as the tea and hybrid roses.