A Culinary Garden Design
April 16, 2012
Garden design is a unique process with a wide range of methods, applications and results. I get a lot of questions about my process and would like to share a little bit about my own designs and how I work with clients to create their ideal vegetable gardens and edible landscapes. I spend a good amount of time observing, taking site inventory and conducting site analysis since every site is different and has its own special features and challenges. An edible garden has specific needs such as good, fertile soil, ample sunlight, decent drainage and easy access for maintenance and harvests. When designing, I am always looking at ways to best utilize the space and maximize food production.
Clients also have their own ideas and needs so I spend plenty of time discussing what the client wants to grow and what they like to eat, how much time they want to spend maintaining their garden and their budget and expectations. If a client wants an entire edible landscape and is starting from scratch with their yard design, I can draw up a complete design in cooperation with landscape architects. If a client simply wants a vegetable garden or small orchard, I usually do a simple sketch and seasonal planting plan that includes everything the client wants to grow. I also do a lot of site design which involves walking around the client’s space, marking off growing beds and paths, staking and stringing and poking around in the soil to find the best location for growing food. My design process involves a lot of back-and-forth discussion with my clients to make sure we understand each other and can work together. Good design involves great communication to achieve beautiful, productive gardens.
One of my latest design projects is working with the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts to create a 6000 square foot culinary and teaching garden at their campus in Austin. They have a unique farm-to-table curriculum that allows their students to gain credit by working on local farms. In addition, they are establishing a culinary garden on campus that will provide ingredients for the kitchen and will offer some space for teaching and dining. I am designing their on-site culinary garden for production, education and garden events and will include seasonal annual crops, culinary herbs, edible flowers and perennials such as asparagus and blackberries. After taking a site inventory and compiling all of their needs, I completed a basic sketch of their garden with a plan to install this fall. Check out the sketch:
I do not believe in wasting time or money on drawing up elaborate designs. I am a very practical person and think that a productive, gorgeous edible garden can be achieved through thorough site design and simple sketches. Ultimately, most people want a productive, edible garden and it is my goal to help folks realize their ideal gardens sustainably and efficiently. I love to work on designs and look forward to helping folks create their perfect vegetable gardens and edible landscapes!
Spring on our Farm
April 15, 2012
In addition to creating edible yards for individuals and businesses, we are starting a small farm in the Texas hill country. Here are a few shots of spring on our farm.
Mavis and Bolina, our chickens, hang out on the back patio.
Even though we built them laying boxes, they prefer to lay eggs in their nest on the ground.
Strawberry season is over for us but we did harvest some delicious, ripe berries!
Our neighbor’s cow has a calf – we get to sit on our front porch and watch his cows free-range in the field.
Chicken Coop: Plan B
February 27, 2012
Decided to do a quick patch-up on this old building to welcome our new, old hens. Some friends were moving and needed a place for their girls.
Chicken Coop Project
February 5, 2012
We’re re-purposing this old, rusted out water tank into a chicken coop. While it’s a fun, creative and inspired project, it’s a bit time consuming. First step, a door!
Actually, we started this project several months ago. First step was to pull the tank off its original limestone foundation.
Thinning Carrots
November 29, 2011
Little Gardeners
October 14, 2011
Here are a few more shots of our new gardens. Notice the green sprouting lettuce around the stepping stones behind the kids… we’re trying to use every bit of space.
We are using flat soaker hoses for irrigation. They work really well and are easy to manage. We’re also in the process of mulching with oak leaves – we have lots of oaks on our property and an abundance of leaves.
Breaking Ground
September 29, 2011
The rain and cooler weather earlier this month inspired us to start our kitchen garden out here in our new space. We bought this place because it is an old farmstead and it has soil. Good soil. Before we started digging, we made sure the ground was moist – it is much easier to work soil that was soaked a day or two before breaking ground.
Joe Henry is leveling the first garden beds in this picture. You can see our house in the background. One of the first stories we heard from a neighbor was that George Rust, the man who built our house in the 1940s, used to sit on the roof and shoot deer that were grazing in his corn patch. We like to think that maybe George’s corn patch was where we started our garden. Though we’re choosing deer fencing to protect our crops rather than a rifleman on the roof, the deer are still a serious problem.
We’re trying to use as much native and on-site material as possible to build the beds. We’re in the hill country so we have plenty of rocks for stepping stones and borders. We also used some cedar logs and a few railroad ties (with no toxic creosote) that the previous owners left here to outline our beds. We did import one yard of Geo Growers Thunder Garden Mix to kickstart our garden. We simply incorporated the mix into the top few inches of our native soil and that, with some deep-bed preparation, was all that we needed to get growing.
Choosing seeds
Planting beets, carrots, lettuce and peas
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Kale and Collard seedlings ready to be planted
Edible Landscape Design Discussion
September 8, 2011
Remember when our Texas landscapes looked green? This picture was taken 2 springs ago, when the bluebonnets and yucca were blooming. I will be giving an Edible Landscaping talk at the Natural Gardener on this upcoming Saturday, September 10th at 9am. I’ll discuss plenty of tips and ideas for establishing an edible yard, but I’ve also decided to mention several edibles that are more drought tolerant or at least need less water (the picture features at least one of the edibles I will discuss.) I think it’s a good idea to consider edibles that need less water since I believe Texas will be facing more frequent drought conditions in the future.
New Headquarters
July 10, 2011
Edible Yards HQ has moved! We’re still in Central Texas just outside of Austin and are excited to announce that we have more space to grow more food and share our experiences with you. Of course we’re still offering the same great services and are thrilled that we have more room to experiment with new varieties, different soils and a whole new set of pests. Things might be a little quiet on our blog since we’re still getting settled, but we wanted to share a few pictures of our new, old farmstead. The house was built in the 1940s and we’ve acquired a few barns and even an old plow. It’s a unique place and we’re super happy.
Here’s Amy walking down the road with Garner and Joe Henry. The barn in the background will be used as our workshop and also as storage for our tools. Yay!
We hope to do plenty of “office” work on our front porch swing too.
Water Your Soil
June 8, 2011
If you’ve decided to put your garden to rest until wetter weather, or you’ve stopped planting and have some bare patches presenting themselves in your garden, remember to keep your soil moist and covered. Yes, water your soil! I, like most organic gardening teachers, sound like a broken record when I teach about soils. Healthy soils produce healthy plants. Living soil produces healthy plants. Adding plenty of compost and organic matter to your soil is the key to a thriving garden. Encourage micro- and macro-organisms in your soil. Soil is a living, breathing environment and all of life needs water to survive so water your soil, not just your plants. And so on.
So, don’t let your soils dry out completely. If you choose to leave some of your garden fallow over the summer, add some compost, water it really well and then place a good, thick layer of mulch (at least 4 inches) on top to help retain moisture, fertility and micro-organisms for fall crops. Be sure to check the soil underneath the mulch once a week to make sure it is still wet.
