The Porch Garden Project

Nothing helps a garden refresh like an afternoon rain shower. The storm breaks; water falls on the leaves cleaning off dust and insects. The leaves then turn down, pointing the water towards their root systems. After the rains, freshly fed, the plants leaves turn back upward, continuing their collection of light. Rain water has other nutrients and minerals that purified water does not. However, afternoon rains are not always regular events. In some places, American’s cannot rely only on natural precipitation to hydrate their plants and instead pull water from city systems, wells, or irrigation channels. Rains may come periodically or seasonally, and in some cases, as deluges that wash off the top soil before it can be absorbed into the ground. In order to lessen the burden on city, irrigation, and natural systems such as aquifers, as well as, prevent some top-soil runoff, gardeners can install water reclamation or collection systems from which to water their garden, lawn, and in some extreme examples, have a naturally refillable, potable water source for their house.

The soil breaks, dampened by the early mists…
Stretching, breaking free, the sprout leaves.
Towards the sun, its first taste of light.
And at our first sight: the inner feeling of bliss.

Leafs unroll, spreading ever higher.
Upward green, downward roots, the plant fills.
And to our thrills, a bud appears.
Releaving our fears, the bloom fills our desire.

The bloom dies, though, fruit, under it hides,
And to our surprise, we see the first round.
The time is ripe for harvest, and that we do…
On that first taste, heard are our delightful cries.

Do you have a Porch Garden? If so, email images of your garden to michael@derrickpublishing.com and we will add them to the site!

Gardening is good for the soul. It can be therapeutic in times of stress or depression. The gardener is rewarded for their care and time with beautiful flowers, vegetables, or fruits. But what IS it to garden? Since the beginning of the human species, humans have gathered various wild plants and hunted animals as a means of food and survival. When humans began to understand the concepts of seed and pollination, they began to select plants from the wild that could be planted in a prepared growing space every year. Thus, some civilizations of man, turned agrarian. Gardening then was as much a means for survival for those populations as hunting and gathering was to the previous ones.

There came a time, especially in post-industrial revolution countries, when gardening was not relied on so much as a personal or social means of survival, however, an attempt to understand, bond with, and cultivate the beneficial or aesthetically pleasing plants humans found in nature. Larger farms, development of infrastructure for the delivery of farm goods to towns and markets, and engineered crops with higher yields, added in the growth of a new concept: ‘gardening for pleasure.’

Gardening for pleasure consists of anything from having an orchid on the window sill, to having a non-commercial farming plot on which a wide variety of plants can be grown. These gardens, whether they consist of only flowering annuals or perennials, succulents, fruits and vegetables, or whether they contain any number of all types of plants, offer the gardener an intimate, close-up and hands-on view of nature in its finest forms.

Having a garden also means having a community of gardeners willing to lend assistance in times of doubt or trouble. There are an array of websites catering to most of the different types of plants found in gardens, from the local to the exotic. These locations offer growing tips and tricks, data on growing cycles and soil nutrients, aid with pest control and prevention, and provide information on which types of plants would be suited for a garden in any type of climate.

Pleasure gardeners know that, there is no better reward than to see a seedling escape from the soil, mature, and bloom into an adult plant. That is what it is to garden. It is giving into the nature of nurturing, the green of growing and the patience of planting that keeps gardeners returning season after season to sow that first seed.

Post Script: And for those that feel they cannot garden, that feel they do not have a ‘green thumb,’ try planting some aloe vera. Aloe is a very hardy succulent which does not require much water and is also extremely beneficial.

And it blooms!

Bougainvillea Bloom taken on a Nikon D50

This is a picture of some growing porch clovers. Clovers are overflowing in one of our aloe plants too!

18Mar08 - The mini-herb garden consisting of Basil, Cilantro, and Oregano is doing wonderfully. The Basil has added two rows of leaves per stalk since we planted it. The Oregano is spreading low and will eventually fill its corner of our square herb container. The Cilantro is moving slowly, and has just begun to really start showing signs of new growth. At each split of the original growth, there are shoots appearing and within a week, there will be tons of new leaves (if all goes as planned).

03Apr08 - We used the herbs to spice our dinner for the first time today. I started with fresh wild Salmon, washed and placed in a cooking dish. Adding 2 table spoons of olive oil to a sauce pan on med-low, I added garlic and cherry tomatoes; sauteeing the garlic and tomatoes until the tomatoes apear wrinkled. I then added the first of our garden herbs: Basil. Stirring the sauce lightly for approx. 2 more minuties, I poured the mix onto our waiting fish. This is when the oregano is added. Place the dish into a 375 degree oven for about 13 minutes. Add the fresh cilantro and serve.

18Mar08 - We are starting with two Better Bush Hybrid tomatoes and two Small sized Cherry Tomatoes. We purchased them started in 4″ peat pots. We planted the two Better Bush tomatoes in 15″ pots. The cherries are in their own 12 pots.

28Mar08 - One of the large Better Bush tomatoes has produced a tomato on the first set of flowers. One cherry has also produced a tomato on the first set. All tomato plants are working on their second sets of flowers. These pots should allow for ample root space and should allow the plants to grow about 4′ tall.

01Apr08 - All tomatoes have produced fruit. The first tomato on the Better Bush is approx. 2″ in diameter.

10Mar08 - M and I started 30 bean plants from three different types of seeds: Kentucky Wonder String Bean, Purple String Bean, and Snow Pea in peat moss treys measuring 2 x 5 pods.

We first added our 2/3rds Organic Potting Soil/ 1/3rd Texas Native Compost (any compost of your choice will also work) to the pods filling them approximately half way. This allows for the seed to be approximately 1/2″ below the surface of the rim. We placed one seed in each pot and covered them to the rim in our soil mixture. M watered them thoroughly today, and one of us will water them daily keeping the soil moist and never dry. We set them outside on a shelf which receives about 2 hours of direct sunlight daily.

18Mar08 - As of this morning, 8 of 12 of the Snow Pea sees we planted have sprouted. Soon we will choose the best 6 to continue onto the next step. The selection process will be tough (we would like to grow them all) but we don’t have enough room for 12 vines (along with the Kentucky Wonder and the Purple Strings). I hope to have pictures of the sprouts up soon!

30Mar08 - All sprouts for our three bean types (Kentucky Wonder, Purple String Beans, and Snow Peas) have pushed about the soil of their peat pots.

01Apr08 - Bean sprouts have been planted in large containers. We used basic storage containers for our beds. I started by drilling five drian holes into each of the two bean containers. Filling the containers until they are half way full (this provides a little protection from the wind during the early stages while also providing enough soil to support the plant), I placed 6 snow pea plants in one (two rows of four) and 8 purple beans in another (two rows of four). Unfortunatley, cats enjoy new bean sprouts.. story short, we will be starting a new 8×2 peat pot of the Kentucky Wonders.

09Mar2008 - M and I are looking forward to the large balcony that accompanies our new apartment to start the 2008 Porch Garden. We are excited because we have never had this much space and are always stepping around plants that cannot be moved (vines, large tomatoes, etc). Pulling on the techniques from our previous porch gardens, we hope to have a great yield on some of our favorite crops this year.

Tonight we purchased the needed plants and supplies (we had all of the pots and tools from the previous years’ porch gardens). This year we will be starting with Better Bush Cherry Tomatoes, Bush Goliath Hybrid Large Tomatoes, Orange Bell Peppers, Green Bell Peppers, Basil, Rosemary, Lavender, Cilantro, and Greek Oregano from seedlings purchased from our local nursery. M started seeds for some Kentucy Wonder String Beans, Purple String Beans, and Snow Peas in peat-moss pots for later planting. I also decided to salvage what was left of our Aloe Vera Crop which was left out during the last freeze. The Aloe has seen tougher times and will probably survive. We are using a soil mixture of two parts Miracle Grow Full Organics Potting Soil with one part of Texas Native Compost.

The Bush Goliath Tomatoes have been planted in their own large round containers so they may have maximum root space/growth. We planted the Basil, Oregano and Cilantro in one large square container to begin a small herb garden. These are positioned so that more herbs can be added later.

We will be traveling back for more soil mixture soon for the other plants like the Cherries and the Pepper (the two large pots for the Bush Goliaths took most of our stock). Also, we might decide to add other plants and herbs to the garden list seeing how we have more space than we previously thought (two more large tomatoes and two more cherry tomatoes should do the trick).