Plans for 2006 — The Suburban Farm

Below you'll find a list of all the stuff we want to grow next year. It may seem like a huge list, but it's not that much longer then last year and we're planning on putting in a lot of beds. Yes, you read that right, everything is going to raised beds next year. The side garden with its 6" rise did so much better then anything else that we were convinced that raising the beds with landscape timbers (or 2X12s) is the only way to go. We'll dig the area under the beds and add some topsoil and compost on top to fill the foot deep boxes. Hoppefully this will translate into hugely enhanced yields and just a generally more positive gardening experience.

We're also going to slowly expand our fruit collection and maybe add a few nuts. We'll see. We're also trying to make sure the front yard looks as good as it tastes and to that end some of the front yard bed space will end up being dedicated to (mostly) edible flowers.

Front Garden

This is the garden in the front yard. It's going to be made into two 4' wide and 8' -10' long beds. The back one will be almost entirely tomatoes and the front one will be cherry tomatoes and flowers. Should be neat and will hopefully yield more tomatoes then anyone will know what to do with.

Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Pansies
Marigolds (Small)
Purple Basil
Snapdragons

Fence Garden

This is the garden next to the neighbor's fence. next year it'll be at least one (and more probably two) 4' x 8' raised bed rather then the mess is was last year.

Bell and Sweet Peppers
Pole Beans
Snap Peas
Broccoli
Eggplant
Salad Greens
Brussels Sprouts

Containers

We've done peppers in containers before. They work really well in 12" pots. The Jerusalem Aritchokes (AKA Sunchokes) will be grown in either a big Rubbermaid bin (like the worms) or a large trashcan. That'll keep them from spreading and also keep the voles at bay. Should be a neat experiment. The strawberries will either be in a terra cotta strawberry pot or in some variation on the strawberry tower theme.

Hot Peppers
Strawberries
SunChoke

Back Gardens – No Vine

The back garden is going in in front of the Blackberries. Yes, in that sunny spot in the back yard. For reference the little green things in front of the shed are the blackberries.

Radishes
Onions
Potatoes
Carrots
Garlic
Beets

Back Garden - Vine

This is another raised bed (or possibly just an uncontained hill with a trellis) in the back yard. Hopefully it'll be a hugely healthy, incredibly viny and massively productive part of the garden.

Spaghetti Squash
Loofah
Acorn Squash
Watermelon
Cucumbers (Pickling and Slicing)

Flower Garden

This is the area right in front of the house where the shade plants and the roses are, on both sides of the front walkway. This is completely Gretchen's territory in the same way that the vegetable only gardens are my territory. I can only imagine what she's going to do with this space next year.

Sunflowers
Bleeding hearts
Red Daylillys
Marigolds (Barn)
Roses

Herb Garden

This is the side garden. Hopefully we'll get it to fill in with only herbs and that'll make it more funtional and perhaps a bit more attractive. I wouldn't be surprised if we got another Jerusalem Artichoke, but that wouldn't be in the plans.

Chives
Chamomile
Cilantro
Dill
Fennel
Lemon Balm
Mints
Parsley
Tarrigon

Trees & Misc

These are all single specimen trees that will go in around the yard. I'm certain that I'll talk about each one in loving detail once we get them.

Asian Persimon
Che Fruit
Bamboo
Rhubarb

Future Plants

These arte plants we're considering for the year after next/the indeterminate future. They might even go in sooner if all goes well and we have both the time and the money. We'll see.