Tomatosaurus Rex 2013

We're getting closer to the goal of having an edible yard. I still need to finda Kingston Black sapling or two (depending on if I can find dwarf or semidwarf, I'm pretty sure the place I aim to plant it would support one semi but might do two full dwarf trees).



I managed to jam two more 4x8 beds behind the existing Tomatosaurus Rex beds to accomodate this year's tomatoes. I ordered 36 different heirloom varieties this year, so I'll need a full six beds just for that. Plus there's peppers and basil and whatnot. We still have the eight beds inside the dog fence, plus the beds that wrap around the deck, the beds to each side of the front porch and the two raised beds made of cool-looking oak log faces in the front.



Which I supplemented with two more. The oak looks better than pressure treated lumber, but it sure is challenging to work with. Plus, I bet it won't last nearly as long. I think if I had it to do over, I'd do the pressure treated and then just bolt the log faces on as a veneer.



Depending on how you count them, I think this puts us to about 24 garden beds. Most are raised beds, but the areas to each side of the front porch are only raised because they've been gardened for a few years and stirring in composed and what not has built up the soil a bit.



The front beds are going to take some strategery, as I'm aware that a certain element thinks growing vegetables in the front yard is bad form. All around the country, there have been people who got harassed and fined for it, and when they've dug in and gone to court it seems like they usually prevail, but better to not be in that situation. As far as I can tell from the Unified Govt's web site, there's no code saying you can't do it, but that doesn't mean someone couldn't find an angle. I made a mistake last fall when I sewed in straight rows on some turnip greens and whatnot. I think my plan for this year is to do things like peppers and basil that dont look all the same, grow to the same height, etc., and plant them in ways that break up that 'row' sense.



It's actually kind of funny that growing vegetables in the front yard could be seen as an eyesore. Back in World War II, about 40% of the nations salad bowl came from victory gardens according to this piece in the New York Times. Imagine the implications, if we got back to that, for the water rights struggle centered around growing it all in a single California valley.