Duluth - Georgia - USA - Zone 7b

The Vegetable Garden Area

November 2002
Here is the start of my vegetable garden.  We have deer so I decided to put a fence up to keep them out and to support tomatoes and cucumbers.

September 2003
More grass gone!  I created a large curved bed which I then subdivided into smaller beds.  I slightly raised these beds so that rain water would run along the path and not right over the flowerbeds.
I bought lovely pink natural flagstones to create a path from the back patio to the back fence.  The bluebirds nested in one of the houses and the chickadees in the other.

April 2004
Even more grass gone!  Mowing has gone from a 1 1/4 hour operation to only 40 minutes.
After moving soil around I brought in 4 Bobcat scoops of mature horse manure and tilled it to about 10".  Then I planted 2 apple trees, a Redhaven peach tree and 3 Hanson cherry bushes.
I plan on continuing the wall along the back fence to create a bed along there.

August 2005
This clearly shows why I needed to make a trench running past the pond and to the corner of the back fence.  The groundcovers growing in this trench slow the flow of water which causes it to spread out more than I would like.  But at least the water does not carry the soil away.

September 2005
The groundcovers have filled in nicely.  I just have to trim them away from the flagstones every 3 months or so.

June 2008
I moved several plants around and made a new birdbath, which the birds love.  I also let the raspberries spread the full length of the vegetable garden because I get fruit from late May until December, non-stop.  I think the variety I have is Heritage, but I not sure.

June 2008
In 2007 we built a new 2 story garage in the area behind the vegetable garden.  Here you can see my early training of my espaliered apricot tree.

June 2009
In 2007 I planted three Blushing Knock-Out roses behind the arbor.  They get about 7 feet tall and I have to cut them back severely every spring to keep them at bay.  But, they are beautiful.  I also planted a row or red Knock-Outs along the back fence and one Rainbow Knock-Out next to the birdbath.  I have always had English tea roses but have dug up and given away most of my tea roses as they are just too much trouble in our humid climate.  The Knock-Outs do very much better and bloom their little hearts out.

May 2011
In the Autumn of 2010 I put in new raised beds in the vegetable garden.  There are 5 beds of 4' x 16', which should give me a good rotation.  I left 30" between beds as walkways.  In 2010 I also put in a muscadine vine with a sturdy support.  The backyard is looking less decorative but it sure will increase the amount of produce I will be harvesting from it.

Vegetable Garden Rotation:
Bed #1
peas & beans
Bed #2
cucumbers, squash & onion family
Bed #3
carrots, beets, spinach & parsley
Bed #4
tomatoes & basil
Bed #5
corn & okra
Next year all groups will advance to the next highest number and things in Bed #5 will move to Bed #1.

There is another narrow bed of about 30" x 16' long in which I am planting greens and odds and ends.  I will install coldframes later in the year for over-wintering greens.

Potatoes, eggplant and peppers will go in between flowers in flowerbeds as I do not have enough room in the tomato bed for these vegetables.  They make decorative plants so they should be fine with my flowers.  I will just rotate them to different flowerbeds every year.

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Copyright Reserved - Created September 2005 - e-mail Jane