2011 Alley Gardens

14 Tuesday Jun 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Backyard Garden, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young

Wow! Time sure flies when you’re having so much fun! I didn’t realize that it has been 10 days since I posted anything here. A hospital visit will do that, I suppose. (Look at what Robin made for me during my recovery. Rhubarb and Strawberry Puff Pastry with Vanilla Ice Cream. I’m so lucky.)

And then, she also made this Strawberry Puffy Pastry with Pastry Cream. (That’s the Idaho State Flower on the dessert – Syringa.) So what does this to do with the Alley Gardens? Try growing strawberries and/or rhubarb in your garden. The following photos show, among other things, basic designs for your Alley Garden – you don’t really need an alley – and some of the produce you can grow in them. Enjoy and I hope this sparked your curiosity. Cheers!

Here is our Alley Garden.

Lettuce in our garden.

And chives and flowers.

The front area between the sidewalk and the curb, is all herbs and it has been since 1986. Great color and herbs.

There is a Doctors office across the street and last year they installed the greenhouse. From what I understand, it was quite productive. Love the way they decorated the storage shed.

Our next door neighbor moved in last summer. This year they started a small, but productive, herb garden.

And other gardens in the area. Some are in the yards, and others are not. Use your imagination and keep the garden space an addition to your property.

These folks started theirs late last summer. This year they expanded and installed a watering system.

And if you don’t have the yard space. why not try “potted gardens”. This one has rosemary, mint and thyme in it.

I think that if you keep your design unique and not interfering with traffic flow, either car or pedestrian and keep it neat, the city will not “bug” you about the garden. Just have fun with these gardens and you will be surprised at how productive they can be. Enjoy!

Backyard Gardening Tips

03 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Backyard Garden, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

It really doesn’t take a lot of space to make yourself a very productive garden. A Victory Garden, if you please. From Better Homes and Garden, I received this link on Schoolyard Gardening, but think of it also in the terms of a backyard garden. Same principle. Same idea.
The photo to the left is where I have “re-claimed” some minimal space along an alley that raises some beautiful tomatoes, edible flowers, fruit (quince) and many, many herbs. We have lettuce and chives in this year already. The Better Homes and Garden article starts off with the statement,

There is no better way to get kids to enjoy fresh vegetables than involving them in the process of planting, growing, and harvesting. That’s the message that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is promoting with his Food Revolution project. Start your own Food Revolution this year, whether at your child’s school or in your backyard, by building a raised-bed garden.

On the page too, you will find several links of tips for planning and planting your garden. There is a link for designing and planting Raised Beds or Getting More From Less Space. Both of these are good articles. You will be surprised at how much, for a little investment in time , money and resources, you can produce in a small space. Many places around us have started to use the space between the sidewalk and the street for raised beds. I would check with your city first, though, before I went to a lot of effort of building the beds and then have to remove it. Cheers and have fun with this project. These is a page on this blog to Companion Planting and the link is located in the Sidebar.

Alley Tomatoes

08 Wednesday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Thought For The Day, Tomatoes

≈ 4 Comments

There is an old song called Home Grown Tomatoes by Guy Clark. These tomatoes are some of our Alley Tomatoes and they are soooo good! But even more than that, there is a line – the chorus – in the song that says,

“Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes,
What’d life be without home grown Tomatoes,
There’s only two things that money can’t buy:
True love and home grown tomatoes.”

And just for kicks, here are the rest of the lyrics.

“1. There’s nothin’ in the world that I like better than
Bacon, lettuce and home grown tomatoes
Up in the morning and out in the garden
Pick you a ripe one, don’t get a hard ‘un.
Plant ’em in the springtime eat ’em in the summer,
All winter without ’em’s a culinary bummer.
I forget all about the sweatin and the diggin
Every time I go out and pick me a big’un.

CHORUS

2.
You can go out and eat’em that’s for sure,
But there’s nothin a home grown tomato won’t cure
You can put em in a salad, put em in a stew
You can make your own, your very own tomato juice
You can eat em with eggs, you can eat em with gravy
You can eat em with beans, pinto or navy
Put em on the side, put em on the middle
Home grown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle

CHORUS

3.
If I could change this life I lead,
You could call me Johnny Tomato Seed
I know what this country needs,
It’s home grown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don’t bury me
In a box in a cold dark cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
Where I could be pushin up those home grown tomatoes.

CHORUS
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes,
What’d life be without home grown Tomatoes,
There’s only two things that money can’t buy:
True love and home grown tomatoes.“

And I feel so very lucky! I’ve got both!!! And if you look hard, you can probably find a copy of the song. Neat song and so appropriate! Cheers.

Ahhh! The "Alley Garden"!

16 Friday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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Actually this is the third tomato so far this season. It’s nice to smell that “tomato smell” again and not smell the rock hardness and the ripening additives that are on some tomatoes. It’s no wonder that so many people now have allergies to store bought produce – so many addivitves. The “alley Garden” is really doing well. I will probably “prune” some herbs next week and take bunches to the distribution point of the CSA we belong to. Here are some other photos of the herbs we are growing. All in the alley.

Chives, Curly Parsley, Greek Oregano, Coriander

Sage and Thyme

Greek Oregano and Lemon Thyme

So there you have some things you can grow in a very limited space. It’s just so nice to see others pickup on the idea of using these spaces. There are several that have “sprung up” in our neighborhood. Think Local … Buy Local … Eat Local! Cheers.

Another Community Garden

06 Tuesday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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Before we look at Another Community Garden, lets look at another Alley Garden. Here on Madison Ave we have an ingenious garden setup. They even have a greenhouse. This garden is constructed in the parking lot of a business in one of the islands within the lot. Really looks nice!

Here from Facebook and Behind The Menu, we have –

Looking to support a good cause AND have a good time tomorrow? How about making the grand opening of Common Ground Farm in SE Boise’s Surprise Valley. Here are the details from the CG folks. See you there!

Who: YOU!

What: A Grand Opening Party to Thank YOU all and to announce that the “CG farm stand is open to the public” and we…’ve got loads of great produce (and great people).
Live Reggae Music from Candread & RiZing ReZistance (above), food, fun – bring your families and some food or a picnic. Or taste food here from a few refugee vendors cooking some of their specialties. Bring some, taste some, will be great. Nigmat will have fried rice and kebabs for sale. Devi may make momos. And our bakers may make some pastries….bring something you love and share.

When: Wednesday, July 7th from 4pm – 8pm.
Why: Because we like you (most of you) and we think it will be great fun. AND, we want to send a huge shout out to all of those who have helped give Common Ground the wings to fly.

Where: 4750 S. Surprise Way in Surprise Valley (SE Boise) – next to Eastwind Community Church on the lawn / at the Common Ground farm.
This event is open to the public, anyone is welcome!

Thank you all for all that you do to make this community a far better place to live.
Bike over, walk over, drive over or stroller over if you’re one of the smaller CG family members – stay for a bit or hang the whole time – we hope you all feel welcome and as excited as we do – going to be a blast!

Maybe we’ll see you there. Who knows. But if we do show up, look for the guy carrying the camera. Cheers!

Alley Garden – Completed.

18 Tuesday May 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do

≈ 2 Comments

Today in Boise, reminds me of the description of Seattle, WA or Sherwood, OR – rainy, cool. In Boise right now: 50ºF, 100% RH, winds ENE@5mph and rain rate at 0.03″ per hour (second photo). A good time to post these photos and let everyone know how the project is doing. It’s finished! Now for some more planting. I know two of the neighbors who have made raised garden beds in their yards since we started this.

Looking West in the alley.

Looking East in the alley. It’s raining! I will probably add some more lattice on the fence.

Alley Garden – Raised Bed Preparation

09 Sunday May 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do

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Planning for a raised bed. Find the location that you want: Water availability, amount of sun, does not impede the city’s alley access.

Lay out your basic design. At this point, you can change the design as you wish. Choose the material that you will be using to contain the raised bed. I like stone, but wood planks and/or railroad ties can also be used. Also choose how you will water the area.

A couple hours later, you have a raised bed. This one is 8 feet wide by about 3 feet deep. Enjoy your garden. Cheers!

Alley Gardens – One Way To Beautify The Neighborhood

06 Thursday May 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Anthropology of Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do

≈ 1 Comment

It’s always nice to see what imaginative and innovative ideas folks dream up to utilize some open space and not interfere with City of Boise functions or ordinances. The use of some small alley space to beautify the neighborhood and the alleys and to increase the functionality of the city scape, is just one way people are utilizing the space. Hopefully, more folks will become involved in this non-formal or really not organized project. Just be aware that the City of Boise has priority for the use of the alleys and they must all be clear and accessible by emergency vehicles.

The start of an alley garden. A modest design.

A garden in production. A more typical raised garden.

Still a more formal type of raised bed.

Here is an elaborate design and functionality. This one happens to be “curb side”.

So there are some designs one can use. From the very simple, yet functional design, to a complex design that adds beauty and tranquility to the neighborhood. It might be wise, though, to check with your neighborhood association and the City of Boise for any restrictions that they may have. Cheers and good luck!