garden update

So one month ago we were this:

And I had a list of questions. To revisit where I am at the moment:

* Grass.
We decided to forego the headache of a tiny bit of grass. Couldn't even imagine keeping kids off of it. A big sandbox suits everyone quite nicely. Chris built this for the boys just last Saturday, and they are thrilled, to say the least.

* Upside-down tomato plants. Still think they're cool. Leaning towards not doing it, though. I'm just not comfortable with tomatoes on my front porch. I just don't want to go to all the work to have someone mess them up. Plus there's the watering issue. I don't have an easy way to water hanging pots like that, and that seems to be the number one most comment upon issue.

* Rain barrels. i think my dad is going to make me one when he makes some for them.

*green roof. Still a big question mark.

* Compost. I decided not to do worms for now.
I just made a little compost house with cinder blocks and scrap boards from the vacant courtyard behind our house. It's kind of cute. And we haven't had any trouble with animals. Today, I found a gate someone was throwing away. It used to be a baby gate they had around their fireplace, and then their daughter had painted it. It was cute. And gave me a little extra boundary around the compost house. Because i was worried about a little mouse-y named Marlowe who was getting into climbing all over the thing.

After spending more time outside, I've gotten a chance to see the way the sun hits. We get a fair amount of sun. Not full sun for the full day, but enough, I think. At least enough to try to have a vegetable bed in the back. Chris built me a raised bed when he built the sandbox. I filled with a bunch of leaf compost that I could get for free at this place near the arboretum. I've made a couple of trips so far. I also had bought some bags of top soil and garden soil from Home Depot, but I don't think they're any nicer than this awesome leaf compost I got for free. Did I mention that it was FREE?! As in back up your car and fill 'er up. (Locals, here's a map)

I think I'm going to have check out Square Foot Gardening that so many of you all have read. Because I'm having a hard time planning out this space. It's not much. It's kind of funny. I feel like I've gardened and worked with plants all my life, but I've never had to really plan out a vegetable garden all by myself before.

I'm trying to maximize the space I have by using some vertical gardening techniques. The rain gutter planters are my personal favorite at the moment. (Inspired by this gardener, who everyone has linked to!) I got a 10ft rain gutter from Home Depot for about $6. Using metal cutters, I cut it into three parts. Unfortunately I kind of mangled the edges as I cut them, so when I tried to put the end caps on, they didn't fit so well, and I ended up with the rather unelegant solution of duct tape. So far it seems to be holding fine. I punched holes in the bottom for drainage. I have red and green lettuce, spinach, and cilantro growing in them.