Hard to believe that just a month ago my entire yard was only mowed weeds with spotty patches of grass.I began digging out the deep rich soil from what will be my paths, and placed it on top of where I will be growing my veggies.The soil is dark and rich and is easily separated from the weeds, sod, and roots by knocking it on the ground.Placing a layer of aged manure down and then covering with the soil from the path areas is enough to smother most of the growth beneath. Wood chips are put down in the path areas to help hold the soil in place in the growing areas.Sugar snap peas have been planted along all of the fence. Closer to the cement is a second seed bed with more kale and collards due up soon.Leftover (winter surviving) Kale has been transplanted into this bed to provide some early spring greens until new plants are large enough to harvest from. Although it is wanting to go to seed, it is still sweet and the "heads" are like small broccoli floretts.Here onion sets have been planted and are coming up. Lettuce, carrots, and greens will be planted between the rows of onions. Next to the onions are early garlic shoots that were transplanted from last years garden.This large patch is one of my seed beds with kale at the very bottom, collards above that, and several varieties of leaf lettuce at the top. To the right is my newly transplanted rhubarb bed (large leaves) with lilies just to the right and then a row of garlic chives.In the back is my first compost pile with leaves saved last fall, manure from the county fairgrounds, and the weeds and grass that has been dug up from the yard. Temps have hit over 160 degrees already. The smaller pile in front is aged manure.
Most of our front yard was annual grass and weeds. Underneath was a deep layer of rich topsoil.A few sections had some grass but still spotty with weeds. Nothing worth saving.I began removing all of the topsoil from the front yard along with the weeds and little sod. The plant matter is being composted and the sifted soil will be used else where.Where the topsoil has been removed, perennials are planted - each given a small scoop of enriched dirt and aged manure - then covered with aged wood chips.Areas closest to house will remain bare until roof is finished.Here is where I dug up a neighbors weedy patch and planted flowers and mulched with aged chips.
Note : When we purchased this house in December of 2008, The entire yard was nothing but mowed patchy grass and weeds - no shrubs, garden, or beds. All of the work you see was done without the use of a tiller or any other power tools.  As usual, I didn't take any pictures before I started the first week of March, but I will try to take updates on the first of each month.  This started as a veggie garden for us, but we also raised hundreds of extra starts for others in the community,  perennial divisions to continue to do beautification projects in low income areas, and we gave away over a thousand pounds of greens to local ministries.  Not bad for a brand new garden, huh ? ? ?
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Front Yard 4/09
Garden 4/01/09
Garden 5/01/09
Garden 5/14/09
Overwintered kale trying to go to seed. Look in the photos for the following months and see how this went back to producing all edible leaves on multiple trunks!
Latest Pics: March 24th, 2010 . . . these will blow you away!  {click here}
Garden 8/18/09
March 1st 2010:  These are some photos of the 2009 test garden on March 1st 2010. Although there has been no growth, so to speak, through the coldest stretch, we are still harvesting and eating kale off of these plants.  Some finally show significant "burn", but the good leaves are as sweet as the kale ever gets . . . fantastic!!  All this after one of our worst and coldest winters on record, and without any cover!
Late October 2009
Late November 2009
Row 1: CollardsRow 2: CollardsRow 3: Kale with collards in rearRow 4: Kale (leftover green inions in foreground).Row 5: Raspberry transfers in front. more kale in rear.Row 6: New mystery plant - different type of kale?Row 7: mystery plantRow 8: overwintered kale from 2008 gardenRow 9: KaleRow 10: KaleRow 11: new garlic bedRow 12: new Chives - transplanted out in August as single bulbs.Row 13: overwintered kale from 2008 garden.Row 14: KaleRow 15: mystery plantRow 16: CollardsRow 17: Raspberries (still producing a bit). Amazing since these now get no direct sun at all . . . shaded by house with low late fall sun.Row 18: more chives and some wandering onions.Row 19: Primary greens area front to back (collards, kale, mystery kale)Row 20: Primary greens area back to front (mystery kale, kale, collards)Close-up of mystery kale.Close-up of Kale. (Standard brick for size comparison).Close-up of Collard plant.Overwintered Kale in front of 90 gallon trash container (for size comparison).Row 7 after picking for local ministry. 19 pounds here (plus 7 for us the day before) . . . all from one row about 5' wide X 15' long.
I harvested some of the largest leaves from this patch yesterday (12-28-09)Surviving collards: some of the trunks have buds and small leaves sprouting out. You can count how many leaves were harvested from each plant . . . if you wanted to.Just some winter kale ready to be picked.More kale with lots of big leaves . . . packed with flavor and nutrition!Kale reminds some people of Florida . . . can you say "palm tree"?There is probably almost a pound of leaves for harvest on this plant!Collards are more sensitive to extreme cold, but these haven't frozen yet, even after several nights in the teens.Immediately under the double layer of bubble wrap the temps are quite toasty. Heat leeking out the edges draws fresh oxygen into the pile and keeps it cooking.
Added some more from Dec. 31st (2009)
Garden 6/14/09
Garden 7/14/09
Start here at the top and work your way down to see how the garden started and progressed through the summer of 2009
Late December 2009
West side:F to B - 2008 kale, 2009 kale, 2009 kale, garlic, chives, 2008 kale.East side: F to B - 2009 red kale, raspberries & 2009 kale, 2009 kale, collards.New leaves at base of 2008 kale plants.Can you say "yummy salad"?New leaves sprouting from base . . . top leaves still look (and taste) good.New leaves only . . . top froze!
How many veggie gardens in Dayton are producing high nutrition food in March . . . without using any cover?
How many local gardens will look this good even in May?

Notice the new leaves sprouting from the trunks of the kale plants. Even the plants that have now gone through two winters and are starting on their 3rd season are putting out new leaves on last years trunks.