The great lawn into garden experiment
In April I dug up some of my front lawn.
Last year, it was the back lawn. I was able to grow some flowers and Coleus, but no vegetables. The spearmint, a plant that can overtake the planet if unchecked, barely made an appearance this spring. Why? The site gets no sun. None. Full shade full time. Heavier than normal rains probably didn’t help, either. The rain last year even drowned out a nascent lawn. Grass is coming up downstream, this spring. Undaunted, I set the spade to the front lawn. The experts told me there was not enough sun, but I happen to know that in the afternoon and early evening, the lawn gets almost full sun. So I was undaunted. I had to dig up the area where we pulled out four 20-year-old azaleas last year, in order to replant with new ones, so I just carried on a bit and ended up with a three by twenty foot vegetable patch, right smack in front of the house. On one side only- there is a sidewalk from the driveway on the other.
So far I planted tons more tomato plants than any family of three needs, including several heirloom varieties. They are not my personal heirlooms, but they were available locally so maybe they are Virginia heirlooms (see Mr. Stripey, above). I planted two eggplants, a couple of peppers, zucchini and summer squash, cucumber and numerous herbs. Cilantro, parsley, basil, and a few I forgot. I have seeds for even more herbs but I have not gotten them in the ground. Gee, they should have gone in first!
You can see that is probably too much for a 3x20 foot plot that was lawn three weeks ago, but I’m already holding myself back. I have so missed a vegetable garden! Where will I put the beans? The peas? The greens? I had planned to put the lettuce and greens out back and chance the shade, but the gargantuan (possible irradiated?) groundhog eats everything to the ground back there, even the dandelions. In front of the dogs. Apparently groundhogs are smart enough to know when a dog can’t get at them. He is so fat that I have wondered f groundhogs are good eating. Don’t wonder that out loud! In an area of the country where people eat fatback and squirrel and pickled pigs’ feet and consider it haute cuisine, everybody looks at me as if I’m mad. What? Groundhogs’re vegetarians. They eat the best food; I know, it comes from my garden!
I am told that I am tempting fate and that this part of Virginia may get frost until mid-may, but so far the little garden has weathered two frosts with just some wilting, no deaths. Deaths are much more likely from me forgetting to water things. There is a little community garden across the circle from us, but I have noticed that it gets even less sun that my lawn, and there is no water available except by bucket brigade. I still may throw my extra pepper plant in there. I got carried away with six-packs, and gave my friend at work tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and summer squash to reduce my planting burden. She’s already got squash blossoms; my plants are not yet all in the ground. Hmmmm. I should have given her more!
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