thinking ahead... will it really help??

there are many many other things that i should be doing and thinking about right now, but all i seem to be able to concentrate (a.k.a obsessively worry) on is a veggie garden. first let's say that we sooooo lucked out in finding this rental house. it's small but doable, super cute, has a gas stove, fenced in yard, they accepted our dogs, and it's walking distance to an awesome coffee shop, a deli with a sweet beer selection, and a home eco general store. all the things we wanted. but really the coolest thing of them all, is that i have been given the ok by the landlords to do whatever kind of garden i want to in the backyard. really!!??!! do they know who they are dealing with??!!?? do they realize that it's ok to have chickens in this neighborhood??!!?? ok, well i'm not really getting chickens, but i do already have ideas for the veggie garden. the backyard is a total blank canvas and i have found some supplies left here by the owners that i am totally gonna utilized (hopefully they won't mind). so here's what i'm thinking about for my garden plan and also what i am worrying about.......

thinking: this is the south facing wall of the garage. i'm putting my tomatoes there. it will get a lot of sun throughout the day and maybe the building might give off a little heat during the night when the seedlings are first planted.

worrying: i'm pretty sure those are asbestos singles. so what about rain water runoff from those? well i read that asbestos is not water soluble and the real danger is when the shingles break or get damaged and you inhale the fibers. just in case that has happened before and there are fibers in the dirt, i might have to wear a little mask when working in the soil around the garage.

thinking: this is the east side of the garage. i've been noticing that this time of year it's been getting some good morning sun and would make a nice spot for some cold frames. which would be really great if i already had them going for a few winter veggies. but if i do get them built over the winter i can use them for hardening off seedling in the spring or for veggies starts.

worrying: again asbestos and laziness and chronic procrastination.


thinking: awesome place right off the kitchen for some over the rail hanging window boxes for growing herbs. how fun to just walk right out the backdoor for fresh cut herbs. fun fun fun.

worrying: squirrels squirrels squirrels!!!!!!!!!

thinking: this spot is right off the back stairs. i'm debating about putting some peppers there. you would think that they should go over by the tomatoes and get lots of sun, but in greenville, the peppers that were on the morning sun side of the house grew far better than the peppers that were place on the super hot sunny side. go figure. but then again i think the soil on the morning side was much better and that could be the reason. either way, that did tell me that my peppers could grow in a not so super sunny spot. now this spot will get afternoon sun verses morning sun so we'll see what happens.

worrying: LEAD. this has been weighing heavy on my mind. these are old buildings that we are dealing with and lead does not break down and go away on it's own. so, to test the soil or not to test the soil?? so far my research has only confused me more. some plants don't take up the lead in the soil as much as others. also if they do, it hangs out in the green leafs and not the fruit. so peppers would be much safer than say lettuce, spinach, or herbs. also if you keep up the levels of certain minerals in your soil as well as a certain ph, that can prohibit the lead from being taken in by the plants. what to do, what to do? i guess i could just test the soil and be done with it. but that equals money. will the hubby go for it?? plus it would be nice to know the lead levels in the backyard with the dogs musing around licking the dirt, the weird mushroom like fungus growing out there (which, btw, what is that??!!??), and eating the GREEN LEAFY GRASS!!!! there's my angle folks!!! it must be done to save the puppies!!!


thinking: or one could just do raised beds to avoid any potential lead soil. however, the amount of money it would cost to bring in bag and bags of soil/compost for the beds would in the long run cost the same as the soil testing. plus the cost of materials needs for the construction of the beds. that's where the picture above comes in. see that pile of rocks. hello, raised bed material!! there is also another pile of rocks over by another tree on the other side of the yard.

worrying: were the landlords saving them for some kind of boarder around said trees???


thinking: and last, but not least. the groovy patio out back. i think this area will be great for anything i want to grow in containers. the spot gets enough sun and for the most part i've had pretty good success with stuff in containers, except for of course the tomatoes and oddly enough rosemary. but not to worry about the rosemary issue. there is a little flower bed out front that doesn't have much going on in it, so i'm thinking a pretty edible landscaping is needed and rosemary fits the bill nicely.

worrying: bad history of staining pavement and concrete with soil rings that don't wash away.

so there you have it folks. a bit of a garden plan for next year. but for all this to happen i really need to get started now. there's soil prep to be done and fencing to be put up (damn bunnies). also i gotta clean and organize the mess i made in the basement to make way for a sweet seed starting area AND the garage is going to be my new garden cottage so some organizing and making pretty needs to be done in there as well. so gotta go!!!!