Nelson Project
This is a tour of our personal backyard garden based on permaculture principles. The garden space is 33 ft X 40 ft or 1320 sq feet. In this space we are growing a total of 32 different fruits and vegetables. David had heard about a method to build raised beds using cardboards and chicken wire, so we thought we would give it a try. It has worked well in our space. We have drip irrigation on all our plants. Click here to learn more about how our raised beds were constructed.
Cucumbers were planted with sweet corn. The corn provides structure for the cukes to climb and they help each other with essential nutrients.
This bed contains zucchini, jalapeno and green peppers, and chives. Certain plants help each other thrive.
Using special clips, the tomatoes are supported by wire attached to the overhead poles as they grow. This seems to work better than cages.
Five varieties of tomatoes were started from seed and planted in a dedicated raised bed. Marigolds help keep pests away.
We are growing:
blackberry vines
cantaloupe
chives
collard greens
cucumbers
eggplant
green beans
green peppers
honeydew melon
jalapeno peppers
kale
lettuce
muscadine grapes
onions
potatoes
pineapple
red peppers
spinach
sunflowers
sweet corn
swiss chard
table grapes
tomatoes (5 varieties)
zucchini
Trees
almond
blood orange
elderberry
key lime
meyer lemon
papaya
pomegranate
Wire fence panels were attached to the back fence for grape and berry vines to climb. Green beans were planted in between as companion plants.
A few cantaloupe seeds produced an abundance of sweet fruit which we enjoyed sharing with family and friends.
Fruit and nut trees are currently being grown in large containers with drip irrigation. Trees can grow and produce in containers for several years before they need to be permanently planted in the ground. Here we have a Key Lime, Blood Orange, Peach, Meyer Lemon, Kumquat, and Sweet Almond. On the other side of the green house is a Pomegranate and Elderberry.
The garden is located in the corner of the yard. Sunflowers were planted along the fence to help ward off certain insects and to harvest for seed. They also look pretty peeking over the fence!
The flower heads are dried in the sun to prepare the seeds for harvest.