Putting in my new garden - Part 1

I have long wanted a food garden.

I have tried a couple of times, but not in a well-thought-out way.  Before it was more like.....hmmmm.....I could stick some plants in here.  This looks like a good spot?????  I need to put something to fill in over there.....

What happened is that the vegetables grew all over the lawn.....then the dog...who loves squash for reasons I just don't get....decided to eat anything that got remotely ripe and wasn't half rotting....and I got bupkis.

Another problem I face is that my neighbor on the one side is not the best neighbor in the world.  I want to be super clear.....every other neighbor I have is awesome.  I love my neighborhood.  But these people are not who I wish I had living next door.

Their yard is a mess.....to put it nicely.  There are several pieces of decaying furniture out there (the indoor kind), trash all over, recycling not in cans, general yuckiness....and their porch has so much junk on it that I'm going to call Sanford and Son soon.

The grass often grows beyond 2 feet in height.  They didn't have trash service for over 6 months.  They never clean up after their dog. ETC. ETC. ETC. No. They aren't elderly or incapacitated.  They...Just. Don't. Care.

Other than the obvious, the additional problem for us is that we end up avoiding our yard.  We have a couple of strategically placed bushes that block most of the disarray when we sit on the back deck, but spending time in the rest of the yard.....not enjoyable with that view.

I'd love to put in a 6-foot fence, but the price we were given was outrageous (probably not really....just nowhere near anything we can afford). In addition, they have let some "bird-poop" trees grow on their side of the fence that would need to be cut down before we could put in a 6-foot fence.

Again....read....cost we can't afford....or have no interest in affording.

So this winter, I came across the concept of vertical gardening.....growing plants upwards to decrease growing space and increase viable food.

I fell in love with the idea.....in love, love, love, love.

In addition to blocking the view.....and getting to use our yard to hang out in again.....We would get vegetables!!!!!!!!

I went nuts looking at free kindle books and websites.  There is SO much information out there.....probably a bit too much.

I came across the Square Foot Gardening method....one of the books I bought that actually cost me cash.....i.e., not free.  I love Mel's concept of doing more in less space.  It's flipping brilliant.  Check the book out....you won't be sorry.

I also took a course at my local arboretum about growing a vegetable garden.  It was insanely helpful.  It took all the ideas I had floating around in my head and helped me coalesce them into a final plan.  It was $12 well spent!

Over the next couple posts, I hope to explain how I got from crazy concept to a ready-to-go raised garden bed.