Hello Lovelies,

I started my plants this year and I’m very excited!! I’ve been researching this Back to Eden method of gardening.  I had a terrible time last season with the hot Texas sun.  I got one fantastic harvest of habanero peppers and tomatoes but the entire garden quickly burned. The leaves always looked yellow and just unhealthy. Here in Texas, I have clay soil. I tried last season to dump bags of soil and mulch and try to plant in it. But I was disappointed.

As we embark into winter, I’m starting all my plants from seed. I’m using organic seed and organic soil. I used egg shells in my tomato plants for added calcium. I’ve planted in numerous sized pots and am keeping them in a spare room in the front of the house that we don’t really use. It’s a warm room and gets sunlight all day long. I’m hoping and praying they will grow healthy for me.

To do this I had to get the pots off the floor somehow without spending money. I gave myself a $150 budget and I’ve already spent $123 and have yet to get onions and potatoes. I know stands can be pricey and I didn’t have any tables or chairs. But after rummaging in my garage I found an old bed frame and some long wood. I used the wood as slats and made a bench like table for my plants. I used trash bags to line the floor underneath just in case of water leakage and cut a tarp like bag in half for under my tomato plants.

I’ve planted:
Herbs are basil, Thai basil, Italian sweet basil, rosemary, dill, cilantro,  chives, lavender, parsley, mint.

Veggies are cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, early girl big tomatoes, chili peppers, jalapeño peppers, bell peppers, scallions, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, cabbage.

EKK CAN’T WAIT!! I learned hard last season and I don’t want to fail again. Seeming it’s the off season I can get bags of soil for less than $3 a bag. I’ll buy a little each week over the next 3 weeks and layer in my backyard with newspaper in between. It will decompose and add to the soil. Then in a I’ll top with wood chips. The soil will retain its moisture all winter and prep itself for spring. It won’t dry out.

Come spring,  I’ll layer some homemade compost I will be making this winter in my garage  for added nutrition and top with wood chips again. This will give me the ultimate bed to grow in and even help raise my entire garden bed. Last season it flooded so this will help a lot.  I’ll plant all my plants in the soil and bring the wood chips right to each plant. This garden is supposed to be non watering. Most people who’ve done this method have said they water very little.

To deal with the sun I found small fencing which will help shield the garden from the sun a little and I’ll cover the top with a trellis while I’m at work and take it off when I get home for a few hours of direct sun. Its a 25 ft x 7 ft ish space along my fence.  My goal is to avoid the burning from the sun.

If you want to know more on this method of gardening you can look for the Back to Eden Film on You Tube. It’s a Christian documentary about this guy’s person spiritual journey developing this method of gardening.  It’s fantastic!! I’ll post about my progress so stay tuned!