“For some reason, 4-by-4 gardens spark the imagination of a lot of people. They are so neat and clean and easy to handle. You can walk all the way around them; you can thin the plants without having to get dirty; and you can have as many as you want in any arrangement you like.”
Duane Newcombe
It may be snowing (again) this morning (April 1st!) in New Jersey but I’ve done a good amount of work on the garden this week — and I have my Dad to thank! I’m going the 4×4 route that Duane swears by and divided my 8 x 8 plot of land into four nice little gardens.
I’m so glad my parents came to visit this past Wednesday, since their previous Postage Stamp Gardening experience came in handy. When my father saw the area I created with 2 x 4’s that Newcombe he casually asked how I planned to pick the vegetables in back without stomping on those in front. Yikes!!!! Somehow as I was framing the garden, I forgot Newcombe’s advice: “you’ll need pathways in order to reach all your plants.” My Dad, evidently seeing the bewilderment in my face, immediately grabbed a spade and began helping me reframe my garden, making room for a narrow pathway in between.
Thank you for saving me a lot of mushed veggies and frustration Dad!
I will wait a tad longer for this cold and snowy weather to stop so I can start planting my seeds. Over the weekend I’ll be designing my 4 x4 gardens and hopefully, the weather will cooperate next week! I’m getting a bit impatient!
Looks like one thing is in my favor early next week and that’s the moon cycle. The new moon is April 3rd and according to my postage stamp prophet, if I plant the vegetables that grow above ground in the first quarter of the new moon and the “first impulse of magnetism”, I should see “noticeable spurts of growth in the garden.” More on that (and the little old lady who lived across the street from Newcombe) next week! I know I need all the help I can get for this garden to grow!
Lou Palma says
Where’s the pizza?