A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other peoples pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!
Check out this story and pictures Jana from Austin, Texas sent in for a little garden inspiration:
Hi Mavis!
When I was first inspired by your gardening adventures, we lived in Hillsboro, OR. A year ago we moved to Austin, TX and one of my goals was to have a raised bed garden in the tiny backyard of our new house. My husband built this whole 20′ x 30′ “urban farm” in early March. I had started some plants from seed, some were bedding plants, some seeds were sown directly and we planted it all before St. Paddy’s Day. We have 21 tomatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, broccoli raab, snow peas, lettuce, corn, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, brussel sprouts, Blue Lake green beans, cilantro, basil and chives.
The growing season here is very different from the Pacific Northwest, some plants can be in the ground in January and the whole party is over by late June (too hot for most things by then). It is possible to squeeze in a second growing season starting in early fall, if you play your cards right.
Here is an overview of the six 4′ x 8′ beds and one 4′ x 4′ bed, all made from 2″x 6″ cedar with heavy duty landscape cloth on the bottom and a mixture of garden soil, compost, sand and riverbed soil. We are in a new neighborhood, so we recycled old survey stakes and built supports which can be used again next year for the tomatoes. I tied bamboo poles together to make teepees for the Oregon snow peas.
These are Campari tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers and protective marigolds (I swear they and the ladybugs repelled a multitude of bugs). One day in March, on a whim, I took an egg carton, planted a tomato seed in potting soil in each cup (taken from my Costco Campari lunch tomato) just to see if they would grow. Lo and behold, they not only grew, they thrived and now we have 8 Campari’s with little tomatoes!
We have 27 white corn stalks. Today I saw the first corn silk on several plants, so we should have corn soon. The toughest thing about growing corn in a Texas spring was all the WIND. Several of the little corns were blown completely out of the ground and we’ve had to prop up some of the bigger plants after being blown over.
Jalapenos do very well in this hot, dry climate. This bed also has brussel sprouts (which I planted too late and will probably not get sprouts), Blue Lake green beans, which have tons of little beans on them and spinach, which has done well.
This bed has cabbage, onions and carrots. You can see the 4″ x 4″ cedar posts my husband used in the corners of each raised bed for stability. He also screwed them together versus nailing as he wants them to last a long time!
These are the heirloom tomato plants. We have Ox Heart and Cherokee Purple. Also, there are 4 Italian Roma tomato plants, 1 Sun Gold and 1 Supersweet 100 cherry tomato, 4 New Girls, 2 Celebrity tomatoes and the 8 Campari’s. All of them are covered in flowers and there are mature tomatoes on each just turning red.
Here is my garden craft project. I made this planter from the last bit of cement in the wheelbarrow when hubby was building something else. I used a shoebox, lining it with wet cement which I hollowed out, let cure and popped out of the cardboard after it had dried. Makes a nice, although rather shallow planter for English Daisies on the patio table.
Hope you find my garden interesting enough to use in your blog. Come visit Austin sometime. It is a blast and a world traveler like you would love it!
~ Jana
If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:
- Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so, show me some picture of how you are going about it.
- Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
- Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
- Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
- Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.
If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.
Go HERE for the official rules.
Julie says
Hi Jana, I’m in your area as well. Go visit The Natural Gardener now! It’s a fabulous place if you’ve never been there. They also have my most favorite thing for gardening in our heat. Shade cloth. I buy 40% and 60%. Build some pvc hoops and then you can extend your time for lettuce and pretty much everything else. Okra and sweet potatoes grow very well here, too. I plant sorghum and corn to create natural fence lines, and thus shade. Best of luck to you and welcome to Texas!
Rochelle says
Jana, as a fellow zone 9 gardener I wanted to encourage you that your party isn’t over in June, but just getting started. Of course as a new transplant yourself to zone 9 you may wish the party was over! Hot hot hot!
Anyway you can plants all your melons now, cucumbers, eggplants, winter squash., etc. The best part of zone 9 is lots of time for succession planting. Start another round of zukes now through June and rip out your old ones just as the new one begin to produce. Keeps your garden tidy and extends your harvest. I do the same with tomatoes. Most years you’ll have tomatoes for Thanksgiving!
The hardest part of zone 9 is getting seeds to germinate in the high heat. I work around this by planting the seeds in jiffy pellets inside the house. The day they pop up, seriously that day, I plant them outside. (3 days MAX) They are too young to get shocked because they still have all the energy and nutrition from the seed itself and the peat pellet retains extra moisture. Just give them a daily drink the first week and then back off from there. (I do these by hand so I don’t overwater the rest of the garden.)
There is something to plant and harvest year round in zone nine. It’s truly magical; if you can take the heat!
Chad says
Wow, Jana. this looks realy great. You and your husband have a beautiful backyard (now that it’s filled with food).
Carol says
They have a great garden…thanks for posting the photos, Mavis!
Sakura says
Wow! Your garden is beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration. I have 4 4×4 beds and thanks to your picture I’m extending those out tomorrow to be 4×8’s!
Heather in Ma says
Nice job with your companion planting!
Sarah says
Jana: If your Brussels sprouts don’t sprout, try eating their leaves! Here in the Portland area I’ve planted them at the wrong time and didn’t get sprouts, but at least in the cool weather their leaves are very delicious.
Jana says
Thanks, guys! I really appreciate all the good tips and compliments. Just ate the first Sun Gold cherry tomatoes yesterday (yum), with more to come soon.
Katy says
Hi Jana – welcome to Texas! I live just down the road from you in Kyle/Buda area, so I feel you when it comes to gardening in our blistering TX summers.
I second the recommendation for the Natural Gardener – it is a great place! Not only do they have an amazing selection (and a great little animal area to entertain any kiddos), their staff is quite knowledgeable and can help with just about any question you have for them. They also have a lot of rainwater collection supplies, which is great with all of our water restrictions here. You may also want to check out the Great Outdoors in S. Austin. They can be a little pricier, but if you are looking for something in particular, and Natural Gardener doesn’t have it, they usually will.
One note on the shade cloth mentioned earlier. It is an essential item here, but it is priced accordingly. I found a way to make my own out of the fiberglass mesh screen used for screen doors. You can get it cheap at Home Depot (like $20 for a roll that is 60′ by 4 ‘). Double it over, throw some eyelets/grommets on there, and you’re set.
Happy gardening!
Jana says
Thanks for the warm welcome and very interesting info on shade cloth. I will definitely have to use that here in the searing sun!
Shannon says
Hi Jana, your garden is great! Oh, don’t you just LOVE Sun Golds? My most favorite of all tomatoes……we have to grow a couple of them every summer….they are so sweet and delish!
We are in Zone 9-10 here in Southern California, and I also grow all the way up until Thanksgiving. Some things actually last through the winter, like Swiss Chard, and I had a Sun Gold from last summer that I pulled out this April!
Jana says
Thanks, Shannon, for your kind response. I have eaten hundreds of Sungolds since that first one of the summer and I am still in love. I don’t think I would ever get tired of them.
Ellen in Clackamas says
that yard looks fabulous! That is what I want to do with mine…put chips or sawdust around the boxes. Really make a nice, finished look
Lucy says
What a beautiful and inspiring garden! Thanks for sharing!
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
I love these gardens of the world posts. So fun to see what’s growing in various places.
I also have to giggle because she calls her garden small. I’ve always lived in a urban environment and to me that garden is HUGE! Just your garden space is exactly three times as big as my community garden allotment- which is the biggest garden space I’ve ever had by a long shot. Grass is always greener…so to speak. I loved the Costco tomato seed story. And your garden looks amazing!
KK @ Preppy Pink Crocodile
Kris says
Welcome to Austin! We’re container/raised bed gardening here too. Thankful for your blog, what an inspiration.
Hong L. says
Hi Jana,
What kind of mulch did you use on the outside of your garden beds? Where did you buy them?