Becke and Paul Boyer have turned their backyard into a wonderful space that yields lots of food. They love having such a variety of foods available from their own yard. Some of the things they are growing include: raspberries, blueberries, black raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, strawberries, melons, zucchini, sweet corn, tomatoes, many herbs, swiss chard, carrots, squash, grapes, radishes, turnips, peppers, eggplants, collard greens and plans to add more in the coming years. This season they added a whole new area to their garden in a spot near their house where grass wasn’t growing very well. Now it produces lots of food! Keep reading to check out photos of their great garden space.
They have always had lots of herbs growing in containers. They fill in some of the space on their back deck. Also in containers are Sungold tomatoes. These are tiny tomatoes that boast a huge burst of flavor. Their pretty yellow color also makes them decorative. Becke was worried she wouldn’t be able to find them this year, but found some at the Clintonville Farmer’s Market.
The spot of grass that wasn’t growing well was on the south facing side of their house. They decided to invest in making it a Square Foot Gardening area. They have four plots that are 4′ by 4′ and one plot that is 3′ by 3′. The plots are 6″ deep and have a weed barrier on the bottom that drastically cuts down the time spent weeding the garden. The overall investment in this area was about $500, but it is one time and the plots are yielding great harvests.
The 4′ plots are divided into 16 squares. In the first one, the Boyers have planted 16 radishes, 16 turnips, 1 eggplant, swiss chard, sweet corn, green beans, carrots, midget cantaloups, green onions and collard greens. The plot is doing great, but the collard greens were taken over by aphids and had to be removed. Besides that and spinach not really growing, they haven’t faced any issues with their garden this year.
Another plot contains eight tomato plants and they have completely taken over the area and then some.
Another plot contains pattypan squash that is supported with a trellis, cucumbers, lots of zucchini and poblano peppers. Next year they would like to plant even more zucchini – it is doing really well and they use it in a lot of different dishes.
The final larger plot is filled with strawberries. They planted several different varieties so they will ripen in June, June and September and some that ripen all season long.
The Boyers like to use seeds and seedlings to get their garden going. They have found things at different Farmer’s Markets, The Andersons, Sutherlands and Carfangas.
