Growing Home Part I

      My husband and I purchased our home two years ago. The yard was entirely overgrown with blackberry bushes, flag irises, and weeds. We spent the first two summers just cleaning up the place, and we certainly have the scars to prove it! Now that the ‘dirty’ work is done, we’re ready to make it look like home. We’d like to do that as fiscally and environmentally responsible as possible, and I’d like to ask you to join me along the way. I’ll be using the information from our website to help with this task.

     Our challenges are many in this venture, and we’ll have to tackle them one by one. Up first is the front side of the house. Our house is built into a hill, and as a result, we have a lot of retaining walls. These step-down flower beds are great, but they have a lot of treated wood. We know the dangers of treated wood containing formaldehyde and will be replacing it in time to come. For now, we are going to work on the beds themselves.

  
     First things first, these bad boys need to be completely demolished. The large, tall, grassy looking bunches are yellow flag irises. The root systems are CRAZY. The individual plants are actually all interconnected through their rhizome root systems. The roots are far reaching and difficult to control. These are extremely invasive, and when our run off collects rhizomes from them, they spread into our water-ways. These can be poisonous to animals, and handling parts of flag irises can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions, so we will need to be sure to wear our gloves. The rhizomes from these plants can fracture off and grow again, which is why wide-spread tilling is not recommended. Control takes several years to succeed. 

     With all this in mind, we have decided to start the attempt of removing these beasts. We will be digging up and hand removing the root systems. As you can see here, a shovel wasn’t getting the job done. We had go with a good old fashioned pickaxe to pull up the roots. I sorted through the systems by hand to ensure all parts were removed. It was a serious labor of time, but I wanted these guys GONE. Thanks to a large amount of root rot, we may have been more successful than normal. However, chances are that next year, we will be going after them again. 

This is why it is so important to use careful selection in what you plant. Once invasive species take off, they are a real gripe to get under control.

Creating a Self-Sustaining Garden is the new Landscaping

Do you have a vision for what your frontyard/backyard looks like? There are so many ways you can go about it. You go crazy just looking over your pinterest boards and at times, get so overwhelmed, more so that your plans gets pushed back. As if that's not discouraging enough, landscaping can get quite pricey. Instead of the standard grass field, and the extra cost to maintain them, i.e. mowing, fertilizers, water usage - you can incorporate a mixture of systems, that will not only make your backyard/frontyard visually appealing but it can also self-sustain itself. Less maintenance is a better option for those of you who are always busy.

To get you started, here is a short article from Jim and Mary's, Creating a Self Sustaining Garden to Feed your Family:

http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2014/07/30/creating-a-self-sustaining-garden-to-feed-your-family-how-to-grow-healthy-food-on-the-cheap/

Here is another article, 3 Simple Steps to an Off-Grid, Self-Sustaining Garden:
http://www.offthegridnews.com/survival-gardening-2/3-simple-steps-to-an-off-grid-self-sustaining-garden/

WaterWise Gardening

Oregon State University Extension Service offers several educational outreach programs to local communities in the state of Oregon. Part of the extension programs mission is to share research-based knowledge with individuals to improve the quality of their lives. They create partnerships with businesses, youth, foresters and community leaders. One of their many great programs is to help homeowners create water efficient gardens. 

WaterWise Gardening utilizes plants that thrive on little to no water in a landscape, saving our natural resources and saving you money by reducing the costs associated with watering requirements. The WaterWise Gardening page has many resources where you will find water-efficient garden design techniques, lists of WaterWise plants and everything you need to get started gardening wiser. These effcient plants can save you gallons of water every year! Click here to read how. 

Gardening and Soil Contamination

          Soil contamination can really put a damper on things, especially gardening. Whether you are gardening in the city or way out in the country, it is important to be aware of the risks of soil contamination. Even in the most rural of locations, soil can be contaminated.  Here are few things about soil contamination to keep in mind when gardening:

• Know the history of the land you are gardening. This can give very important clues into whether or not the soil is contaminated, and whether or not your plants are healthy for human consumption.
• Plant health is not necessarily indicative of clean soil. While you may instinctively assume that because your plants are healthy and thriving, they must be safe, this is not always the case. Arsenic and lead, some of the most common soil contaminants, are not toxic to plants like they are to humans. Beware and don’t make this dangerous mistake.
• Create a raised bed to minimize exposure to contaminated soils. When designed properly, raised beds can prevent plant roots from coming into contact with contaminated soil. 

      When in doubt about the cleanliness of the soil, it is always best to err on the side of caution. To be certain, you may have a sample of the soil tested for quality.

Sources: http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/healthysoils.htm

                 http://blogs.cornell.edu/gblblog/2010/12/01/soil-contamination-what-gardeners-need-to-know/