OMNI Garden Photos (49)
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omni garden 006.jpg
A vegetable bed made by last year’s OMNI young people. The wall faces south, full sun.
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omni garden 3 001.jpg
The vegetable garden area looking east. The south-facing wall is about 30 feet long and has a water spigot. Most of the area is full sun, except for the area shaded in the mornings by the pine tree.
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omni garden 6.jpg
A pick-up load of city compost was used to help make raised beds. Now we just need to add some soil to the compost. That’s not doing it backwards, is it?
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omni garden 001.jpg
Some existing flower beds on the west and south sides (full sun). Though some perennials grow there, there is room for more plants. Most of the area is mulch-covered newspaper.
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omni garden 8 001.jpg
This is the southwest bed near the entrance. Someone needs to adopt this bed. The flowers are crying out, "help us.... please..... weed us..... water us....!!!"
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omni garden 8 002.jpg
The little corner bed right by the door. People have added interesting things.
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omni garden 8 003.jpg
This is the long east-west flower bed that needs someone to maintain it. All these flower beds have some perennials, and under the layer of wood chips there is a layer of cardboard. Some grass grows in it, and it might be that a natural herbicide such as horticultural vinegar might be an easy way to get rid of the unwanted grasses.
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omni garden 8 004.jpg
This is the long north-south flower bed. All these beds have almost full sun, but there is a small bed available on the north side of the building, too. It would be shade, of course.
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omni garden 8 008.jpg
Someone planted some flowers for us (last year?) and it's fun to watch them grow and bloom.
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omni garden 8 009.jpg
Pretty!
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omni garden 8 010.jpg
A peace coreopsis
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omni garden 8 012.jpg
After sifting through nearly every square inch of the garden on a search-and-destroy mission for Bermuda grass rhizomes, I put down cardboard and covered it with mulch for the walkways. The garden has long, narrow raised beds which should never be walked on, because that would compact the soil.
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omni garden 8 014.jpg
These onions were planted for us last year. Though they are in their second year, they are not strong or bitter. I cut one whole plant up in a stir fry, and it added a nice mellow flavor. It does appear, though, that this onion might have genes from an octopus and an orchid.
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omni garden 8 015.jpg
A whole herd of these perennial onions
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omni garden 8 016.jpg
Thanks to Pippin for these industrial-strength tomato cages
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omni garden 8 017.jpg
Gladys planted some lettuce!
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omni garden 8 019.jpg
Mmmmmmm, delicious!
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omni garden 8 020.jpg
Nutritious and fun to grow. I started this slip this spring in my window sill.
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omni garden 8 021.jpg
Here's a view of the garden that shows the raised beds and the walkways, looking east shortly before sunset. I can't figure out that silhouette in the corner of some guy taking a picture. As far as I know, I was all alone when I took it. Strange.....
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omni garden 8 024.jpg
OMNI's back yard. I cleared away some more brush, but there's still about 10 feet or so of property back in that jungle. Who knows what valuable treasures may lie in that honeysuckle-privet wilderness...
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omni garden 8 025.jpg
Here's our rudimentary (i.e. lazy) compost piles. The middle bin, however, is a scientific experiment with potatoes.
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omni garden 8 026.jpg
The potato experiment: I planted some potato slips at about ground level, and covered them with an inch of soil and some straw. As the potato plants grow up, I'll slowly add soil, mulch, straw, and leaves. By July the plants should be mature and the bin almost full. Then, I'll pull away the wire bin and MILLIONS of beautiful potatoes will spill out!
(On the right side of this picture I can see the silhouette of that creepy guy with the camera who kept following me. I wonder who he was....)
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omni garden june 004.jpg
June growth!
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omni garden june 003.jpg
One goal is to have no bare soil exposed under the hot summer sun. So, besides the shade from the thick foliage, there is a layer of straw covering the soil. Hopefully not much watering will be needed during the hot, dry months.
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omni garden july 2011 002.jpg
a cute critter
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omni garden july 2011 008.jpg
today's produce
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omni garden july 2011 016.jpg
cucumber and blossom
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omni garden july 2011 017.jpg
a bee on a sunflower
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omni garden july 2011 018.jpg
They may get taller than the house. Right now they're about 8 feet tall.
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omni garden july 2011 024.jpg
honey bee on squash blossom
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omni garden july 2011 012.jpg
Yum yum! Sugar Baby watermelon
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garden co fair and omni 019.jpg
Sweet potato vines have stayed green throughout all the heat.
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garden co fair and omni 020.jpg
Sweet potato vines up close
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garden co fair and omni 022.jpg
Sweet potato flower
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garden co fair and omni 025.jpg
the trench around the garden to keep Bermuda grass at bay
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garden co fair and omni 026.jpg
A quick "chop chop" with the shovel around the edge of the trench about twice a month seems to have worked against the persistent encroaching Bermuda grass.
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garden omni october 001.jpg
Here are a couple of "lunkers" I pulled from the ground. (Sweet Potatoes)
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garden omni october 004.jpg
Here are a couple of Make A Difference Day volunteers from the university planting garlic (to be harvested in June).
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garden omni october 005.jpg
This is an example of "cover crop" or "green manure." It is Austrian Winter Pea, and it will survive during the winter and grow more in the early spring. It will help the soil structure and add some nitrogen. We'll just gently work it into the soil next year when we plant other crops.