U.S.U.R.P. Garden: Winston-Salem, NC
Usurp \U*surp"\, v.i.
[1] To commit forcible seizure of place, power, or function.
[2] Acronym: Urban Space Utility Repurposing Project.
_______________________________________________________
OK... So I made up the second definition to suit my purpose, and give my garden a cool sounding name. Also, the owner of the property, which is home to The Hut Collective, not only encouraged me to develop the space, he helped with the digging!
Last July I blogged about my Urban Garden in an article called "Locavores, Patio Gardens and Recapturing Urban Garden Space" It seems I am not the only one who thinks paying 4$ per red pepper, or 8$/lb for decent tomatoes is outrageous. Plus, nothing tastes better than a freshly picked tomato, a still-muddy crisp carrot or a fresh-picked salad.
Although for years I have been an avid fire-escape gardener, I decided to establish a more substantial garden in the triangular lot adjacent to the building where my woodworking shop is located. [aerial photo] The area I had chosen for "re-purposing" had previously been a gravel driveway, so the ground was hard-compacted and covered in gravel. A friend with a tractor skimmed the surface roughly to level and used the gravelly earth he removed to re-enforce the banks of the nearby creek.
Raised beds are the key...spare bricks border the herb bed
The USURP Garden now consists of 8 raised beds in an area of roughly 1500 square feet. The raised beds have proven to be very helpful in avoiding the deluge of rain run-off from the roof of the quonset hut. Last summer I built a 70-foot fence out of reclaimed shipping crates with the help of a few friends. The fence now encloses the garden and creek area from curious and peckish bipedal marauders. Currently I am seeding a small "green space" for a barbecue/picnic area for small gatherings of friends.
Carrots----------Spinach--------Radish--------Mesclun Mix
I really like Zucchini grilled on the Barbecue, so today I decided that I needed to find space for my seedling Zucchinis to be planted and also somewhere to transplant some sweet corn. That required digging a new bed. No small feat when clay and rock are your natural soil conditions. Fortunately over the past year I had maintained a topsoil/compost pile for this very reason. Kitchen scraps from my house, and friends houses were added throughout the winter and it had reached that impressive dark rich soil texture in which the Zukes will thrive. But first I had to dig out the hardpacked clay and rock. It looked like this:
Carolina Red Clay and Rock... A#!@$^ing nightmare
I dug down about 10 inches then added a wheelbarrow of Red Cedar shavings that my shopmate Jacob had donated. The new bed measures about 5'x8'. Then I added about 12-14 inches of the rich compost/soil I had on hand and "Voila!"
Sweet Corn and Zucchini Growing Together
Herb/Medicinal Bed: Mint, Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Tarragon, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Lavender/Echinichea, Lemon Balm, St. John's Wort, Sunflowers, Raspberries and Blackberries.
Bed 1: Celery, Red Peppers, Brussels Sprouts, Orange Peppers, Carrots, Spinach, Radishes, Mesclun Salad Mix
Bed 2: Bush Cherry Tomatoes, Poblano Peppers, Roma, Brandywine, and Yellow Tomatoes, Tamatillos, Okra
Bed 3: Beets, Romaine Lettuce, Spring Onions, Cowhorn Peppers, Leeks, Eggplant
Bed 4: [Trellised] 4 String Bean varieties, Sugar Snap Peas, Snow Peas
Bed 5: Sweet Corn, Pole beans
Bed 6: Cucumbers and Cantaloupe
Bed 7: Zucchini, Sweet Corn
I get a "little" help from some of my friends...
Grow Off Photos:
Growing Raspberries
Growing Basil
Cucumber Explosion
Bush Cherry Tomatoes
Mesclun Salad Mix
Growing Dill
World Record Peppers?
To View A Slideshow of Growth Click Here
[1] To commit forcible seizure of place, power, or function.
[2] Acronym: Urban Space Utility Repurposing Project.
_______________________________________________________
OK... So I made up the second definition to suit my purpose, and give my garden a cool sounding name. Also, the owner of the property, which is home to The Hut Collective, not only encouraged me to develop the space, he helped with the digging!
Last July I blogged about my Urban Garden in an article called "Locavores, Patio Gardens and Recapturing Urban Garden Space" It seems I am not the only one who thinks paying 4$ per red pepper, or 8$/lb for decent tomatoes is outrageous. Plus, nothing tastes better than a freshly picked tomato, a still-muddy crisp carrot or a fresh-picked salad.
Although for years I have been an avid fire-escape gardener, I decided to establish a more substantial garden in the triangular lot adjacent to the building where my woodworking shop is located. [aerial photo] The area I had chosen for "re-purposing" had previously been a gravel driveway, so the ground was hard-compacted and covered in gravel. A friend with a tractor skimmed the surface roughly to level and used the gravelly earth he removed to re-enforce the banks of the nearby creek.
In the first stages of re-purposing, it looked like this:
After dozens of yards of dark topsoil, mulch, compost and sweat, it was transformed into this:
Raised beds are the key...spare bricks border the herb bedThe USURP Garden now consists of 8 raised beds in an area of roughly 1500 square feet. The raised beds have proven to be very helpful in avoiding the deluge of rain run-off from the roof of the quonset hut. Last summer I built a 70-foot fence out of reclaimed shipping crates with the help of a few friends. The fence now encloses the garden and creek area from curious and peckish bipedal marauders. Currently I am seeding a small "green space" for a barbecue/picnic area for small gatherings of friends.
Carrots----------Spinach--------Radish--------Mesclun MixOn Preparing New Beds:
I really like Zucchini grilled on the Barbecue, so today I decided that I needed to find space for my seedling Zucchinis to be planted and also somewhere to transplant some sweet corn. That required digging a new bed. No small feat when clay and rock are your natural soil conditions. Fortunately over the past year I had maintained a topsoil/compost pile for this very reason. Kitchen scraps from my house, and friends houses were added throughout the winter and it had reached that impressive dark rich soil texture in which the Zukes will thrive. But first I had to dig out the hardpacked clay and rock. It looked like this:
Carolina Red Clay and Rock... A#!@$^ing nightmareI dug down about 10 inches then added a wheelbarrow of Red Cedar shavings that my shopmate Jacob had donated. The new bed measures about 5'x8'. Then I added about 12-14 inches of the rich compost/soil I had on hand and "Voila!"
Sweet Corn and Zucchini Growing TogetherCurrently Growing:
Herb/Medicinal Bed: Mint, Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Tarragon, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Lavender/Echinichea, Lemon Balm, St. John's Wort, Sunflowers, Raspberries and Blackberries.
Bed 1: Celery, Red Peppers, Brussels Sprouts, Orange Peppers, Carrots, Spinach, Radishes, Mesclun Salad Mix
Bed 2: Bush Cherry Tomatoes, Poblano Peppers, Roma, Brandywine, and Yellow Tomatoes, Tamatillos, Okra
Bed 3: Beets, Romaine Lettuce, Spring Onions, Cowhorn Peppers, Leeks, Eggplant
Bed 4: [Trellised] 4 String Bean varieties, Sugar Snap Peas, Snow Peas
Bed 5: Sweet Corn, Pole beans
Bed 6: Cucumbers and Cantaloupe
Bed 7: Zucchini, Sweet Corn
I get a "little" help from some of my friends...Growing Raspberries
Growing Basil
Cucumber Explosion
Bush Cherry Tomatoes
Mesclun Salad Mix
Growing Dill
World Record Peppers?
To View A Slideshow of Growth Click Here