Beginner Green Thumb

I am a beginner Green Thumb. I started out with a weed patch that I inherited from the previous owners of my house. I bought my house in the winter and have been surprised at all the different blooms cropping up in the yard now that the snow has melted. The previous owner planted tulips, several rose bushes, two Japanese Maples, and several other plants I don’t know what to call. They also appear to have kept a small vegetable garden in the back yard. It is 17ft x 12ft and I discovered raspberry plants amongst the huge weeds that had taken over from my neglect.

I’m so excited to take this piece of clay and mold it into something I can enjoy. When the snow first started to melt, Mike and I talked about laying down a cement pad where the garden is, and moving the shed there. Right now the shed comes out straight into the yard and makes a lilac bush pretty inaccessible. Also, the plywood the shed is currently sitting on is terribly warped. But we’re not ready for an expense like a cement pad. Right now we are trying to pay for a trip to Disneyland in September.

I told my mom about the plans for the cement pad and she said something like “The prophet said to keep a garden.” Well, ha! I didn’t believe her. I wanted to see it in writing… And I found an article where Spencer W. Kimball talks about keeping a garden to aid the saints in becoming self-sufficient (“Family Preparedness,” Ensign, May 1976, 124). My dad said something the week before that made a lot of sense to me. Gas prices are getting ridiculous, and they say it’s not going to get any better. Say truckers go on strike and all that’s in the grocery stores now is gone in a week. What would you do for food? You’d be better off with even a little bit of food storage and even a small garden don’t you think? “Lefou, I’m afraid I’ve been thinking…” (Finish that quote or tell me which movie it’s from!) So until we are ready to move the shed, I think I could put that weed patch to good use!

To be honest though, I have more selfish reasons for working this garden. I think it will fun! The fruits of my labor are just a bonus. :) I just tell you all this stuff about my mom and the prophet to give the story of the origin of my green thumb.

My first discovery was the free section on ksl.com. Some people had ads for free cinder blocks or free lava rocks: yours for the taking if you come and haul it away. Here are some lava rocks I got and will use for 2ft wide pathways.

There was also some free wood. I read somewhere about raised gardens, and I

sure do like the sound of that because I have puppies (good thing they are shorties) and because I don’t like the idea of back strain from bending over so much. Here is the first of 4 planter boxes. Mike helped me make this and it took us 2 hours and we broke 3 drill bits! It is 5ft x 2.5ft x 1.25ft. I love it! For you math fans, it is in the second quadrant of the garden.

My next stepping stone is to find some free fill dirt on ksl. Well, actually I have already found some there, but I just have to figure out how to get some to my house. Then for the top 6 inches I need potting soil or something really rich in nutrients. They say most plants only grow in the top 6 inches.

I did a ton of work on the raspberry plants in the back against the fence. I cut out a huge pile of dead stuff. Once a cane bares fruit it dies and it needs to be cut out to make room for new canes.

I read that raspberries canes are biennial. The first year the cane grows and is called a primocane. The second year it bears fruit and is called a floricane. So I cut away everything but 4 canes, and one has little green berries on it! I think that means it is a fall-summer bearing raspberry cultivar and not a summer-only.









One day I asked my mom if she had a hoe I could borrow to churn up the weeds. She said yes and brought me over a brand new hoe, shovel, hand clippers, two decorative garden stakes (they look like dodo birds) and a tomato plant! Holy crap! What a sweetheart!

So far this venture into the Weed Patch has only cost me $13.47 for L-brakets. But now I have to buy Mike some new drill bits. Ooops!