Establishing the Garden

I tried a couple different methods for starting new ground. The first was based on a concept of smother mulch. I unfortunately do not have any pictures of this process. However, I started it in the spring and the idea was to lay down 2 layers of newspaper and cover with compost then with mulch.

I had heard that this was a good process for starting raised beds and so I figure that it would work equally well for an in-earth-garden. For most grasses and broad-leaf weeds this process appears to be enough. However, the common Bermuda grass is one tough adversary. It had no problem waiting until the paper broke down to come on up. It is fortunate that the majority of this yard that I had recently acquired was crab/goose grass because if it had not, the entire garden would have been Bermuda.

I have yet to fully vanquish the Bermuda from that side of the garden.



With that I started the first years growth. I planted all of the essentials: cucumber, pumpkin, corn, tomatoes, beans.
They all did really well aside from a few insects that seem to think that I had planted the entire thing for them.

Foremost was the Squash Vine Borer.

Most of my gardening exposure had come from Wyoming. Up there, if you can get water to it it will grow. They don't have so many diseases and bugs as here. (I suppose because it gets so cold.)

The beans were slow to start and the tomatoes never did take off really. Here is where I would like to share my experience with you. I got my compost from the local city dump. To this day I do not know if it was a persistent herbicide or some biological factor but the tomatoes still struggle over there in the compost. More research needs to be done into their compost. However, for Enid residence I would suggest not putting that compost where you plan to grow tomatoes in the next two years.

This is a place where I would like to further differentiate my garden from a common garden and one's sponsored by the OSU extension office. My garden is about sustainability. So the plants that I plant in it need to be well adapted to the adverse conditions in the region. I plant varieties that are insect, drought, and heat resistant. AND I save the seeds from the plants that do well to plant the following season. Thereby promoting further regional development.