What’s going on in your garden (2025)?

[Gone Hiking]

So, a couple of dogs ago, way back in 2010, I ripped out a sloping bed of unruly shrubs behind our house, hand dug and terraced the slope out, and installed two sets of paver steps, a paver patio, and four raised garden beds. A year or two later, I added river rock and paver steps in between. It was a nice, useable "fun-sized" garden for that space, even if there was always too much shade. (Note the landscaping changes over the years and the two dogs who are no longer with us.)

After 14 years, the wooden boards were rotting out, and last year we decided to build an outdoor space over that whole area, so we salvaged all of the pavers and river rock to re-use ourselves, and let the excavator rip out all of the rest. We had too much going on this Spring to build a new garden elsewhere, so we did a limited garden of tomatoes, peppers, and a handful of herbs in planters. As of this week, they're all kicked. In fact, we just carried our lemon and lime plants into the sunroom for the winter. Next Spring, I hope to re-build a proper garden out in the yard, probably out of paver blocks or perhaps pre-fab steel garden beds. I think my focus will be mostly on herbs that I can use during summer, and freeze or dry to use the rest of the year. At least, herbs are what I use the most. We'll see. I'm open to garden construction ideas.

 

[Barriehie]

So, a couple of dogs ago, way back in 2010, I ripped out a sloping bed of unruly shrubs behind our house, hand dug and terraced the slope out, and installed two sets of paver steps, a paver patio, and four raised garden beds. A year or two later, I added river rock and paver steps in between. It was a nice, useable "fun-sized" garden for that space, even if there was always too much shade. (Note the landscaping changes over the years and the two dogs who are no longer with us.)
View attachment 134850
View attachment 134851
View attachment 134852

After 14 years, the wooden boards were rotting out, and last year we decided to build an outdoor space over that whole area, so we salvaged all of the pavers and river rock to re-use ourselves, and let the excavator rip out all of the rest. We had too much going on this Spring to build a new garden elsewhere, so we did a limited garden of tomatoes, peppers, and a handful of herbs in planters. As of this week, they're all kicked. In fact, we just carried our lemon and lime plants into the sunroom for the winter. Next Spring, I hope to re-build a proper garden out in the yard, probably out of paver blocks or perhaps pre-fab steel garden beds. I think my focus will be mostly on herbs that I can use during summer, and freeze or dry to use the rest of the year. At least, herbs are what I use the most. We'll see. I'm open to garden construction ideas.
View attachment 134853
View attachment 134854
View attachment 134855

Looks good Gone Hiking ! My goal this year was not spend any money on the garden excluding the $25 I spent on starting food and fertilizers.

I take my 30 or so yo tiller:

Have been grinding out 100 ft^2 every year. This is last December. The green bit is my Purple Creole garlic coming up that I plant on Halloween, when the ground is around 55 °F.

Now it's seasons end and the tomatoes and squash are mostly done but the chili's, Cayenne and Big Jim, are still cranking them out!

It doesn't look like anything you'll find in a magazine but this year I got:

• 30 or so lbs. of cucumbers
• 50 lbs. of tomatoes, in jars now mostly
• sack loads of Cayenne and Big Jim chili's
• around 90 bulbs of garlic (enough to eat and plant again)