On Being Ruthless

Urban gardeners, as a rule, have drastically less space to devote to a garden than people dwelling in suburbs or agrarian areas. Some get by with a raised bed 3' on a side while others have only their windowsills on which to place container plants. I feel blessed to have an 8'x20' area to do my growing; my sister, by comparison, who lives on a rural farm in Washington, has a vegetable garden larger than my entire lot. All this is to say that urban gardeners must be absolutely ruthless when it comes to space. We must covet that empty space in between rows of lettuce seedlings (quick! plant carrots!), replace that harvested plant with a new seedling, and always be assessing if we are using every available square foot in the most efficient way possible.

To that end, Melissa re-examined our garden again tonight and made the ruthless decision to remove our main strawberry bed. Last year, I planted 25 plants in a bed three feet wide by eight feet long, and they did pretty well...until the squirrels ravaged the berry crop. Then in the time-honored tradition of closing the barn door after the horse has fled, I built a frame around the bed and cover the whole thing with netting to keep out the squirrels. When the plants sent out runners I meticulously arranged them and rooted the shoots all around the bed. This fall, I covered the plants in a deep mulch of clean straw, just like you're supposed to. But now, nearing mid-April, only about 15 plants have re-emerged, despite all the time and energy I poured into them.

Twenty-four square feet for 15 plants? Hardly efficient. So, Melissa and I bought a vinyl rain gutter, cut it into two five-foot lengths, and are turning the south wall of our house into a miniature vertical garden. One gutter is up, and hopefully tomorrow I'll get the other hung. Then, I'll dig up the strawberry plants and transplant them into their new home. It's a way to take advantage of hitherto unusable space (the wall) and free up a significant growing area for more efficient use.

So keep turning a critical eye on your garden, and stay ruthless!