Ballard Edible Garden Tour, Part 1

Saturday, June 23, 2012, was the 4th annual Ballard Edible Garden Tour.  Before the rain got too miserable, my sister-in-law and I saw 9 of the 15 gardens.  (Ballard is an area north of downtown Seattle, WA.)  The houses in the area are from the early part of the 20th century, and unlike in Vancouver, are not being torn down in great numbers, but are lovingly cared for.  Click on this link to read more about Sustainable Ballard and their Edible Garden Tour.  On this tour, I was fortunate to be able to explore backyard edible gardens as well!

What is behind the trellis?

 

Corn!  And a raised bed with copper strips wrapped around the outside to discourage slugs.  The trellis provides an attractive and useful foil in the front yard.  The back yard has an area for free-roaming chickens; unfortunately, I did not get their photos.

When we talked to the gardener at the second garden that we visited, he told us that he had rebuilt these boxes to conform to Seattle's guidelines for boulevard gardens.  One box is in the shade of a tree, and it had peas which I was amazed to hear had over-wintered!  I am not sure that could happen in Vancouver.

The lot is extra small because part of it was split off years ago for a second, small dwelling in the rear, so space for growing is at a premium.  Veggies are grown in pots on these steps, and there are more pots are along the driveway and in the back. The gardener likes to have flowering plants next to the front sidewalk to screen the vegetables from view, making the front very attractive.

This time, I got a photo of the chicken house (7 chickens live there), which spans both of the lots, and chores are shared. 

The third garden used a cover crop of crimson clover to improve the soil on the boulevard, and edibles are inter-planted.

Here's a way to keep a teepee together at the top!

Gardens in the Pacific Northwest invariably have spots with unavoidable deep shade.  The gardener in this garden has decided to grow mushrooms in three shady places in the garden.  He is hoping for mushrooms next year.  This is the first time I've encountered planting mushrooms outdoors.

One of the mushroom sites in the side yard:

 

 The backyard has an extensive garden.  The black plastic heats up this area for tomatoes and peppers.

 

More photos to come!!

Even More Boulevard Raised Beds!

A house on the corner of Dunbar Street has created two new raised beds on the boulevard between Dunbar and the lane, and they are already planted with promising plants.

Crossing the lane, I came across two more new raised beds on the boulevard.  This house probably lost some green space due to building a laneway house, so they have now put their southern exposed boulevard to a good use; as well, it is beautifully done.  Note the trellis, the wires that mark out the beds by "square foot", and the marigolds that may scare off some insect predators.

Even two photos cannot do justice to the attractive design of these new raised beds just across the street.  It is also a practical design because it allows ample access from a parked car.  The owners have just begun with planting.

On the same block, someone is growing vegetables, tomatoes, peas, lettuce, right in front of their south-facing house.

So...with three new raised bed configurations and one maybe new front yard vegetable patch all in one block, this is another HOT mini area for growing vegetables!  It must be contagious.

Boulevard Boxes Going Viral

Math question: 2, 3, 4, 6...what number comes next in this sequence?  I came across these two sturdy raised beds, newly built on the boulevard, and the gardener couple said that neighbours told them that they were watching the development and considering having their own boulevard boxes.  Marigolds guard the chard plants in these neat beds.

In the same block, I came across three more newly built boxes along a sunny side of the street.  The boxes still were pretty bare, but those pumpkins will claim some space.

Turning the corner onto Collingwood Street, I saw four boxes, which I have seen before and included in an earlier blog (see blog of September 16, 2010).  This north south street has large trees, so these boxes are often in shade.  The sunniest box has admirable carrot plants.  Another box has potatoes and (probably) volunteer poppy plants.

Going back to the east-west street I came across six boxes!  Two of them have mini greenhouses that fit cleverly onto them and help to extend our cool growing season.  The open beds looked empty...until I spotted some wheat.  Perhaps this was part of last season's wheat growing project in Vancouver.  Note the attractive new garden shed in the background.

So, with four instances of boulevard boxes within a block of each other, two of which are new this year, there seems to be a little movement in that area of Dunbar.  2, 3, 4, 6... what comes next?