Changing Fred into Fred-jables

Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:14 am

Just thinking out loud for a few minutes on an idea that came to mind last night, or I should say really early this morning.

What if I transplant most of the plants from the backyard to the front yard over the fall and winter and turn the backyard into a vegie garden? I have gotten so interested in having our own fresh vegies from looking at the harvest pictures of Sjoerd and EJ. I have always wanted to grow potatoes, I have grown Okra and Blackeyed Peas successfully, tried corn and squash and failed....tried growing them in a summer that became one of the hottest and driest on record...but want to try again. There are a few other vegies I would like to try. And watching our grocery bill get higher and higher and the quality of the produce diminishing...especially when there have been quite a few problems with Salmonella outbreaks because of the poor hygiene practices of the pickers, growers and processors.

Some plants will have to stay out back, specifically the rose bushes, hibiscus plants and the Fig tree. But everything else can be moved while it is dormant or just breaking leaf in early spring. I may have to wait until early spring on some so I can find them ;)

The process can not even begin until Fall and hopefully at that time we will get rain to make the soil workable. So I have plenty of time before then to work out a garden design plan .....but then I have never been very good at planning things out so I will probably wind up just digging holes and sticking the plants in....but I do want to put some paths in before planting this time.

It's just something I am thinking about, probably wouldn't involve the whole backyard but the center portion where the main garden is at least. There are a lot of plants but I think I can do it.

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kuntrygal wrote on Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:33 am:

Sounds like a good plan to me! If anyone can do it, girl you can!!

CritterPainter wrote on Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:53 am:

I agree with what she said! But should add, traditional cottage gardens mix the edibles right in with the ornamentals, maybe let some flowers stay and plant edibles in between? Can make for a naturally pest-free veg garden (like the obvious one, marigolds around veggies to repel insects. That sort of thing) Just a thot.

Droopy wrote on Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:58 am:

Sounds like an exciting project, toni. :D I think it's a wonderful plan. Good luck with it.

Biita wrote on Mon Jul 07, 2008 7:39 am:

I think that would be awesome, and just what CP said, there are alot of plants you wouldn't need to transplant. You have all those different types of thymes and balms, that would help with companion planting to veggies. I'm sure you have ediable flowers also, keep those with your veggies because they do help with the insects.

Also your winters can be mild right. Plant the veggies in fall that are usually just getting harvested in then and you would have early harvest in dec and jan. You know before the bad weather steps in. I did that in Alabama.

Sounds like a good plan!

Frank wrote on Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:49 am:

Could be a good idea Toni, if you do decide to convert Fred remember to keep a photo diary :)

eileen wrote on Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:06 pm:

Oh I like that idea Toni. You will have all your own home-grown veggies and they'll taste so much better than those shop bought ones. To cut down on pests and diseases will you be companion planting by any chance?

toni wrote on Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:27 pm:

I went to sleep last night making plans for the move.
Randy is in Washington DC this week, when he called last night I told him this idea and he just sorta groaned. A few days ago he hinted that he needed to start working in the yard with me to get some exercise, he may regret saying that ;)

I have two really long lists of companion plants that I am going to study and include in the plans.

Would you believe I have never been able to get Marigolds to grow for me? They won't come up from seed and the plants I've bought at nurseries die within a couple of weeks of being planted.

I don't think I will try for any vegies this year. One of the things we know needs to be done out back is major amending of the soil. Feeding plants and adding compost to the planting holes of the newer plants has been good, but many of the more established plants have not been doing as well as they have in the past. An empty garden will make adding organic fertilizer and compost much easier this fall

glendann wrote on Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:26 pm:

Sounds like a wonderful idea to me toni.I will be waiting for pictures.

Sjoerd wrote on Wed Jul 09, 2008 12:47 am:

Oh YESssssss!
I support your idea 100%.
You say that you aren't any good at planning, but it sounds like you've already got some good ideas for beginning already.
Fall is the best time to start preparing your ground for veggie gardening. I will need lots of working to get the consistency right. You must set-off on the right foot or otherwise you may be disappointed with the results.
I really want you to succeed on this, Toni.

You know marigolds are funny little things...they are a tough plant and needs little care......except in the first three weeks of it's transplanting into your garden.
I have noticed myself that they take quite awhile to acclamitize.
First of all, any plant that you transplant will be set-back about 2 weeks because of the 'trauma'.
I always transplant on a cloudy day having soaked the plant's roots beforehand and I water every other day depending upon whether it rains or not for at least 3 weeks. I water thoroughly--a good soaking every time I give H2O.