mskitty38583

here are a few areas in my yard that are being transformed( hopefully soon) to edible landscapes( thanks to richard and miller mackinzie) with the additions of a few non- edible plants.

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any ideas on what to plant on the hill???? i need something to keep the ground in check but i dont want too many hardscapes in there.

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Last edited by mskitty38583 : 01-30-2009 at 10:22 AM.

CookieCows

On our property a hill means the only place we can plant something! We have to bring in dirt and make hills because of the close proximity to bedrock. Oh the things we don't know about when we buy!! Now we know that a mile down the road either way, you can dig down as far as you want!

Oh well, we love it and deal with it.

I would put a light house that really lights up if I could with plants and afew rocks. I want to do that to one of our hills. I like the thoughts of short fence posts too with heavy rope looped through ... nautical like surrounding the hill. We were able to get fence toppers for free to edge one of our beds from a neighbor that had their pasture fenced in and they cut the tops off to make it even when it was done.

A nice hill in your yard just has so many possibilities!

Deb

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mskitty38583

i like the idea of the lighthouse....and i just so happen to have a 3 ft, solar powered one in my livingroom. ill have to get some rock to make it look like an outcroping.....that was a great idea. thank you cookie. ill probably plant some hen and chicks and some new guinie creeper just to make it look good. and of course there will have to be a nana in there.

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mskitty38583

so any new beds going in, in the spring from any of the members? new ideas forming on paper yet? what will you be putting in your new beds?....besides nanas.

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Lagniappe

Okra ! Lots of red okras! And Papayas. Actually, anything that makes people scratch their head and wonder.

Bob

I generally grow a 10x 40 bed of organic vegetables. This year I'm only growing Tomatoes: Brandywine , Prudens purple, Moskvitch and Cherokee purple(Thanks Richard for the tip). New Jersyans are tomato snobs. Some "Ailsa Craig" onions(highly recommended), Basil and a very few others. Most of my bananas will be in there with them as part of a mixed planting(stole this idea from lorax' description of mixed culture in Ecuador). Last fall in preparation I tilled in 24 sq ft peat moss, 240 lbs greensand , 300lb rock phosphate and 300 lb lime as well as some old horse stable bedding. I also top dress when I can with seaweed I collect while surf fishing. Lucky to have a profusion of local farmers markets( a lot of organic stuff) in recent years allowing me to do this.I am also going to warm the beds early using some plastic greenhouses and kerosene heaters for overnights. I'll post pics when the thaw finally arrives.

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Tog Tan

Hey Bob, it scares me that you people(especially you) do so much in gardening. As far as the scene goes here, people just plant stuff and if they do well, fine, otherwise they will plant something else.They may feed it but most are lazy in watering especially when it rains. What you were talking about above is just a 10x40 area and so much went in. Wow! Quite an eye opener for me. Thanks.

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Tog Tan has sadly suddenly passed away 6/16/09. We will miss you Tog Tan.

Bob

This may be a bit misleading , the rock powders are only added every 4 years as the break down slowly. I also don't add the peat every year, just when the soil becomes a bit harder to work. I do add seaweed and whatever compost I make as a top dressing working it in the top layer of soil in the fall. Watering depending on rainfall but, bananas will take extra. There are also other spots in the yard where I'll be putting bananas and some (relatively) hardy palms(Trachycarpus, Euro fan palm, Pindo palm). These are wrapped for the winter the way many people wrap figs for winter protection here.
Normally my veg garden is not considered work. The bananas are an experiment for hardiness and fruit production. I do plan to go to excessive lengths to get results though. A while back someone posted a link to some guy in Germany who goes to great lengths for his bananas and I plan on doing much the same.

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Patty in Wisc

Thanks for posting this Sam-- you got me thinking early. At my house, the garden ideas are easy - it's already there so I just plant. But, my fiancee's house will be a tough one. I'm going to live here awhile as I'm still working on remodeling, so we commute 35 miles between our houses. Can't do much in front of his house...the back is weeds & lots of stones & the side is grass going up a small hill. I may take pics when some snow melts, for opinions too if that's OK. Maybe I'll get a brainstorm by then.
Post more pics & show what directions pics are facing. Is the hill where you took the pics from? Which direction facing the road?

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Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

mskitty38583

duh sorry about not putting any direction on the pics. the first one (left top) is facing south off the top of the hill. the second(top right) is facing east off the top of the hill. and the third pic is the flowerbed in the front yard that has slowly had many plants removed. this is going to be one of my edible beds. i think im gonna use cookies idea of doing the light house thing. im gonna plant a nana to the right side of the light house ( its in a corner of the house) but i have to be careful the dryer vent is there. then to the left of the nana will be the light house. i will dig out all the little trees that you see in the 1 and 2 pic and lay black plastic down( yeah no weeds) put the light house inand use rocks for outcropings. ill tuck potted hens and chicks and different sorts of plants in there.
*****have any of yall used that plant that is suppossed to repel snakes? i know some of yall are sneak freaks( banamial LOL!!!!!!) but i dont like them!

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mskitty38583

this is at the top of the hill facing east.

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sirmoebly

Great post, but you really need a new avatar.....mabe try this one...
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mskitty38583

NOPE! im happy with the one that i have. lol. i actually went to a club lastnight ( yes i went to a club...dont faint yall) and there was a bama sign there and i told the owner that when i have my b.day party there in a few months that sign needs to come down. he lol. and said it belonged to a bouncer there. i told the bouncer he had his colors mixed up....there is no maroon in the blue and orange theme. he giggled. when i get this back hill side done the way i want it it wil have blue and orang flowers out lining the outcropping.

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