Gardening for lazy, skeptical, complete beginners
March 15, 2021 7:43 AM Subscribe
So... a house we recently bought in Garrison, New York has a little garden plot that is in deep disrepair: https://imgur.com/a/2cj5pwN. I'm confident the prior owners never used it, so the last time it was used was maybe 15 years ago? I'd like to understand whether it can be turned into a garden again with minimal ongoing effort...
I have a 3 year old who I think would enjoy gardening at a light level and would love seeing plants grow. I'd like being able to grown some vegetables and herbs - I'm not picky as to what, whatever is easiest/most robust/least effort. I'm willing to put in some sweat equity up front and fix it up, but I'm not interested in a lot of ongoing, regular upkeep. We're only there on the weekends except in summer, and I don't want to be spending every weekend out there. During the summer, there will be a lot of shade on it from the trees. We get a decent amount of rain, but that's about all that can be relied on from a watering perspective - we may go a couple weeks without going up there.
I guess I have two questions:
(1) Is it possible to turn this into a garden of some sort that will require minimal ongoing oversight/work?
(2) If it is, where can I learn about how to do it, what to plant, etc.? On this, I'm sure there are a lot of resources I can google or even find in response to questions on metafilter, but in looking I didn't see anything that really answered my first question.
Thanks!
I have a 3 year old who I think would enjoy gardening at a light level and would love seeing plants grow. I'd like being able to grown some vegetables and herbs - I'm not picky as to what, whatever is easiest/most robust/least effort. I'm willing to put in some sweat equity up front and fix it up, but I'm not interested in a lot of ongoing, regular upkeep. We're only there on the weekends except in summer, and I don't want to be spending every weekend out there. During the summer, there will be a lot of shade on it from the trees. We get a decent amount of rain, but that's about all that can be relied on from a watering perspective - we may go a couple weeks without going up there.
I guess I have two questions:
(1) Is it possible to turn this into a garden of some sort that will require minimal ongoing oversight/work?
(2) If it is, where can I learn about how to do it, what to plant, etc.? On this, I'm sure there are a lot of resources I can google or even find in response to questions on metafilter, but in looking I didn't see anything that really answered my first question.
Thanks!
That's a big, big garden plot, if you're talking about what's within that fence. If I might suggest, a hobby garden might be about 4x8 feet at the largest. Anything bigger is going to run away with maintenance needs, especially weeding. Perhaps build a raised bed with some planks, etc, and back-fill it with dirt from the plot? You can also put the bed in a bit more sun.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:01 AM on March 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:01 AM on March 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
Agree with Redstart. Covered with leaves like it is suggests it doesn't get nealy enough sun to be productive. You could plant a paw paw or three. They are an extremely easy low effort fruit- but can take 5 years or more to produce- longer unless they get some full sun at some point in the day.
posted by Patapsco Mike at 8:03 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Patapsco Mike at 8:03 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Just a fast first impression (on preview, echoing the above). It looks like it gets a lot of shade from the trees. To be honest, I think it may have originally been used as a hog pen, I've seen some images of East Coast hog pens with that type of environs and fencing, you could fatten up a couple of piglets between late spring and early fall.
Creating a fun garden for a small child will be a challenge, though. Wild strawberries can deal with some shade, maybe you could build raised strawberry beds.
Maybe look at images from Japanese gardens. The real temple gardens take a lot of work, but I made a Japanese-inspired garden of rocks, moss and ferns in a shady part of the garden, and after establishing it, it just took a lot of waiting time while the plants took root and began to spread, and then it took care of itself. I fetched my moss and ferns in a nearby forest, that may not always be legal. But ferns are really beautiful! You should add in a couple of fir trees for interest and as space markers, and also because they have some sort of symbiotic relationship with the moss and ferns that I haven't read up on. Today I have removed the shady trees from that part of my garden, but I liked the little shady plot so much, I might make a new moss+ fern garden in another part of the garden.
All the spring bulb-flowers grow before the shade arrives, so you could create a spring celebration. In my garden, the deer eat all the tulips and crocus which is depressing, but right now there are thousands of snowdrops, and in a few weeks there will be an equal amount of scilla. You don't have to plant thousands of either, just a few dozen, and then they will spread over time (if they can grow in your soil etc.)
posted by mumimor at 8:14 AM on March 15, 2021
Creating a fun garden for a small child will be a challenge, though. Wild strawberries can deal with some shade, maybe you could build raised strawberry beds.
Maybe look at images from Japanese gardens. The real temple gardens take a lot of work, but I made a Japanese-inspired garden of rocks, moss and ferns in a shady part of the garden, and after establishing it, it just took a lot of waiting time while the plants took root and began to spread, and then it took care of itself. I fetched my moss and ferns in a nearby forest, that may not always be legal. But ferns are really beautiful! You should add in a couple of fir trees for interest and as space markers, and also because they have some sort of symbiotic relationship with the moss and ferns that I haven't read up on. Today I have removed the shady trees from that part of my garden, but I liked the little shady plot so much, I might make a new moss+ fern garden in another part of the garden.
All the spring bulb-flowers grow before the shade arrives, so you could create a spring celebration. In my garden, the deer eat all the tulips and crocus which is depressing, but right now there are thousands of snowdrops, and in a few weeks there will be an equal amount of scilla. You don't have to plant thousands of either, just a few dozen, and then they will spread over time (if they can grow in your soil etc.)
posted by mumimor at 8:14 AM on March 15, 2021
We live about 15 miles south of that, with a similar sized garden that started in the same shape. We're not really gardeners, but we've always had things growing. Getting it going wasn't too hard, but it does require quite a bit of ongoing maintenance - growth during the summer (both plants and weeds) is explosive, so if you're not on it every few days it's going to get away from you.
For my lazy first year garden I'd probably spend the first year seeing what you've got - how bad the shade is, that sort of thing. In the meantime I'd spend my sweat equity putting up a real door, if you can close it entirely that's going to go a long way to keeping animals out. I'd probably also swing by a big box store (home depot, lowes, your local grocery store that has a plant display outside, whatever) and buy a bunch of plants that grow up and out - hot peppers, green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, kohlrabi (excellent for pickling), maybe some cherry tomatoes. Anything that grows above the weeds and can be picked by wandering through and seeing what looks ready. Plant them in what you think will be the sunniest part and hope for the best. If you happen to have some pots inherited in the basement or whatever, get a few bags of compost and topsoil go ahead and plant in them as a sort-of raised bed, you can always move the pots around to find the sun.
That's how we started. Almost everything died, some things didn't. Next year we cleaned it out fully and grew more of what grew well, year after that I built some long raised beds. But I'd spend the first year just seeing what it's like and not worrying too much about it.
posted by true at 8:15 AM on March 15, 2021 [8 favorites]
For my lazy first year garden I'd probably spend the first year seeing what you've got - how bad the shade is, that sort of thing. In the meantime I'd spend my sweat equity putting up a real door, if you can close it entirely that's going to go a long way to keeping animals out. I'd probably also swing by a big box store (home depot, lowes, your local grocery store that has a plant display outside, whatever) and buy a bunch of plants that grow up and out - hot peppers, green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, kohlrabi (excellent for pickling), maybe some cherry tomatoes. Anything that grows above the weeds and can be picked by wandering through and seeing what looks ready. Plant them in what you think will be the sunniest part and hope for the best. If you happen to have some pots inherited in the basement or whatever, get a few bags of compost and topsoil go ahead and plant in them as a sort-of raised bed, you can always move the pots around to find the sun.
That's how we started. Almost everything died, some things didn't. Next year we cleaned it out fully and grew more of what grew well, year after that I built some long raised beds. But I'd spend the first year just seeing what it's like and not worrying too much about it.
posted by true at 8:15 AM on March 15, 2021 [8 favorites]
I suddenly remembered a lovely plant that grows well in the shade, and which I enjoyed very much as a child: rhubarbs. The big leaves fascinated me, because they were so huge, I could imagine they made monumental spaces for mice and elves. And rhubarb pie and rhubarb cordial are very delicious. They need next to no maintenance.
Also, you could see if you could get honeysuckle to climb on your fence. It would be pretty and make a statement that this is a garden. For the same reason: maybe build or buy a garden shed or play-house, to make it more of a place to go.
posted by mumimor at 8:27 AM on March 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
Also, you could see if you could get honeysuckle to climb on your fence. It would be pretty and make a statement that this is a garden. For the same reason: maybe build or buy a garden shed or play-house, to make it more of a place to go.
posted by mumimor at 8:27 AM on March 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
Aargh. I should think before I press post: it looks like a perfect environment for wild garlic/ramsons, too.
posted by mumimor at 8:30 AM on March 15, 2021
posted by mumimor at 8:30 AM on March 15, 2021
You could make a little fairy garden in part of it! Our fairy garden was in the shade most of the day, but I was able to grow Irish moss on a miniature hill, two types of ivy, thyme, a really cute Corkscrew Rush (sorry can't link but Google them, they're kinda whitchy or elvish) - and a few other things I can't remember the names of.
Those are all things I picked up at a greenhouse. I don't think anything would have grown from seed in that plot.
posted by kitcat at 8:42 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Those are all things I picked up at a greenhouse. I don't think anything would have grown from seed in that plot.
posted by kitcat at 8:42 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
I'm with true - spend a year mostly in observation mode. I also agree this may have been an animal pen, not a garden, originally.
For a short observation period, just make a note of the daytime sun path whenever you're there over the next month to see if it looks like it's going to be entirely shaded - you might get a decent band of sun right up front there, at least until the trees fill out, depending on which way we're facing in that photo. If I got the location right, you're in USDA zone 6b (that's a pretty short growing season) with average last frost date April 11-20, so you have time to watch and wait.
For year 1, I would say pick up some grow bags around the 7-10 gallon size, each of those will hold about a 1.5-2cf bag of container soil (not the same as garden soil, just check the fine print on whatever you buy to make sure it doesn't say it's unsuitable for containers). I would try just some classics in the first year - your garden centers and hardware stores will have at least a couple options on container-friendly cherry or grape tomatoes, and kids tend to be THRILLED by little tomatoes. You could also do a small sweet pepper (get two of the same type, they like to snuggle in a container), always handy to have and they freeze great, and a pair of container-friendly eggplant, which are pretty good about hanging out ripe for quite a while before tipping over to overripe. You can plant herbs around the base of these - plant the main plant slightly off-center towards the "back" (north-ish side) of the bag and the littler herbs up front to catch the sun.
See how that goes this year, watch what the sun does over the year every time you visit, and then you'll know if it's worth the effort to put in raised beds next year. The soil there is probably very nice, with years of broken-down leaf mulch, but raised beds are neater and easier than in-ground (but you certainly have the right kind of space for in-ground, to do what is called "no dig" gardening, and you could spend the next year watching Charles Dowding videos about it and prepping). I like the grow bags because you can move them around - if you get some tomatoes and peppers in along that front fence and then it turns out in June the sun is better up one of the sides, the bags are draggable by one person and liftable by two, even with a fairly generous plant inside. If it turns out this pen is not useful at all, you could move the bags elsewhere on the property where there is more sun.
A big warning, though: I don't know that part of the country at all, but it sure looks like good deer territory to me. Block off that entry point with something sturdy, use plywood and zip ties this year if necessary, and keep your grow bags about 2-3 feet back from the actual fence - not so much to keep the deer from eating the plants through the fence, but to make it worryingly awkward for them to jump - they'll be afraid of landing in the bags and getting hurt. Or, well, they will until someone gives in and tries it, and then you're in the fence-modification business.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:54 AM on March 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
For a short observation period, just make a note of the daytime sun path whenever you're there over the next month to see if it looks like it's going to be entirely shaded - you might get a decent band of sun right up front there, at least until the trees fill out, depending on which way we're facing in that photo. If I got the location right, you're in USDA zone 6b (that's a pretty short growing season) with average last frost date April 11-20, so you have time to watch and wait.
For year 1, I would say pick up some grow bags around the 7-10 gallon size, each of those will hold about a 1.5-2cf bag of container soil (not the same as garden soil, just check the fine print on whatever you buy to make sure it doesn't say it's unsuitable for containers). I would try just some classics in the first year - your garden centers and hardware stores will have at least a couple options on container-friendly cherry or grape tomatoes, and kids tend to be THRILLED by little tomatoes. You could also do a small sweet pepper (get two of the same type, they like to snuggle in a container), always handy to have and they freeze great, and a pair of container-friendly eggplant, which are pretty good about hanging out ripe for quite a while before tipping over to overripe. You can plant herbs around the base of these - plant the main plant slightly off-center towards the "back" (north-ish side) of the bag and the littler herbs up front to catch the sun.
See how that goes this year, watch what the sun does over the year every time you visit, and then you'll know if it's worth the effort to put in raised beds next year. The soil there is probably very nice, with years of broken-down leaf mulch, but raised beds are neater and easier than in-ground (but you certainly have the right kind of space for in-ground, to do what is called "no dig" gardening, and you could spend the next year watching Charles Dowding videos about it and prepping). I like the grow bags because you can move them around - if you get some tomatoes and peppers in along that front fence and then it turns out in June the sun is better up one of the sides, the bags are draggable by one person and liftable by two, even with a fairly generous plant inside. If it turns out this pen is not useful at all, you could move the bags elsewhere on the property where there is more sun.
A big warning, though: I don't know that part of the country at all, but it sure looks like good deer territory to me. Block off that entry point with something sturdy, use plywood and zip ties this year if necessary, and keep your grow bags about 2-3 feet back from the actual fence - not so much to keep the deer from eating the plants through the fence, but to make it worryingly awkward for them to jump - they'll be afraid of landing in the bags and getting hurt. Or, well, they will until someone gives in and tries it, and then you're in the fence-modification business.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:54 AM on March 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
Grow an orchard! Fruit, nut, syrup trees. Get them from a local nursery. Your kid helps plant them. Water and deer-proofing to establish, then annual pruning. Kid gets older, climbs them for snacks.
posted by aniola at 9:00 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by aniola at 9:00 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks all! Will review in more detail this evening, but just a few quick responses and this is exactly what I was looking for - really appreciate it:
(1) Definitely not an animal pen - that's prohibited by our community rules, and a neighbor (who I don't know) has a less shaded version of exactly this that is a garden - looks like they were installed by the same person almost, except theirs is not under trees.
(2) Re the leaves, we just finished a recent thaw - it's been snow covered for a while, maybe that kept the leaves around? Though I guess that doesn't bode well from a sunlight perspective either...
(3) Love the suggestions for low maintenance/shade tolerant plants.
posted by slide at 9:08 AM on March 15, 2021
(1) Definitely not an animal pen - that's prohibited by our community rules, and a neighbor (who I don't know) has a less shaded version of exactly this that is a garden - looks like they were installed by the same person almost, except theirs is not under trees.
(2) Re the leaves, we just finished a recent thaw - it's been snow covered for a while, maybe that kept the leaves around? Though I guess that doesn't bode well from a sunlight perspective either...
(3) Love the suggestions for low maintenance/shade tolerant plants.
posted by slide at 9:08 AM on March 15, 2021
The lowest maintenance tomato I grow here in Colorado 5b climes are sweet pea currant tomatoes. They survive our drier climate (although I water my tomato patch daily during the summer), hail storms that wipe out other plants, and getting crowded and shaded out by larger plants. Honestly, they're more a novelty than a taste sensation (I mean, they're better than a winter cherry tomato, but not as good as any of the other varieties I grow) but at this point they just self-seed everywhere, carpeting space under other tomato plants if I let them. If you're interested in trying to grow them from seed I could send you a few (but seed starting is a whole other challenge you may not be up for).
posted by deludingmyself at 9:24 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by deludingmyself at 9:24 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Nasturtiums are pretty low maintenance and are entirely edible—leaves, flowers, buds. Kids may or may not like the slightly peppery flavor of the leaves and flowers (like a super mild radish) but it’s fun to pinch off the tip of the blossom horn and sip out the nectar. They can also take shade, though they prefer sun for best flowering, and do best in unfertilized soil. In terms of temperature, I know they don’t like heat and in my area are usually gone by the time the temperature gets much over 80 or 85. Maybe worth planting some to see how they do?
posted by corey flood at 10:12 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by corey flood at 10:12 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
I hope others will chime in about the veggies since I only have one year's experience. Beans and snap peas are very hardy. You can't screw them up and I think they'll grow just fine. Mint is also impossible to screw up.
I know from experience broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage prefer more shade than sun. But slugs destroy cabbage, so don't bother unless unlike me you don't get very angry about evil pests. If I grow them this year, it will be in a raised bed.
Impatiens are a really cute flower that can grow in shade. I had a lot of white ones in my front garden which is almost all shade. Lungwort is kinda neat. Hostas are the classic shade plant, but they are sooooo boring.
I wouldn't try to plant the really sun and heat and water loving stuff like cucumbers and tomatoes if I were you, but then again I get very sad when my veggies don't grow. Also YMMV since I am on the other side of the continent and in zone 4 which has a very, very short session.
posted by kitcat at 10:16 AM on March 15, 2021
I know from experience broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage prefer more shade than sun. But slugs destroy cabbage, so don't bother unless unlike me you don't get very angry about evil pests. If I grow them this year, it will be in a raised bed.
Impatiens are a really cute flower that can grow in shade. I had a lot of white ones in my front garden which is almost all shade. Lungwort is kinda neat. Hostas are the classic shade plant, but they are sooooo boring.
I wouldn't try to plant the really sun and heat and water loving stuff like cucumbers and tomatoes if I were you, but then again I get very sad when my veggies don't grow. Also YMMV since I am on the other side of the continent and in zone 4 which has a very, very short session.
posted by kitcat at 10:16 AM on March 15, 2021
Something easy you could do: choose the spot you think is the sunniest, buy a bag of commercial compost, buy one or two vegetable starters of interest when you see them available in local stores, and then just see how it goes. You don't have to make a raised bed or carve out a specific spot. If it's a low investment project, then you can play with it, and I'll bet you learn a whole bunch in one season, and then you (I hope) won't feel terrible if it doesn't go great.
Expanding on what corey said, above: another thing you could do is broadcast some native wildflower seeds. You wouldn't need to do a ton of ground prep if you're just experimenting. Go to a local garden store and ask about shade-tolerant native wildflower mixes, and see if they've got some seed packets they could sell. The reason you want native seeds is for two reasons: they'll be well-suited to the climate and thus easier; and they'll attract local pollinators (butterflies, beeds, other insects, birds), which can be lovely.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:18 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Expanding on what corey said, above: another thing you could do is broadcast some native wildflower seeds. You wouldn't need to do a ton of ground prep if you're just experimenting. Go to a local garden store and ask about shade-tolerant native wildflower mixes, and see if they've got some seed packets they could sell. The reason you want native seeds is for two reasons: they'll be well-suited to the climate and thus easier; and they'll attract local pollinators (butterflies, beeds, other insects, birds), which can be lovely.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:18 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you're looking to eat the veggies your garden produces, I would try to get the soil tested for toxins before planting, because plants inevitably absorb metals etc which might be potentially dangerous.
You could probably start a sort of low-pile composting heap with all those leaves that would be nutritionally beneficial for your plants.
Your local recycling center might have mulch/compost/soil/wood available for free or a low price which could be a good leg up.
posted by erattacorrige at 10:20 AM on March 15, 2021
You could probably start a sort of low-pile composting heap with all those leaves that would be nutritionally beneficial for your plants.
Your local recycling center might have mulch/compost/soil/wood available for free or a low price which could be a good leg up.
posted by erattacorrige at 10:20 AM on March 15, 2021
Berry bushes are often native to forest edges and clearings and therefore tolerate shade (with reduced fruit production). Vaccinium (huckleberry) do well for me between maples and a building.
On your schedule, most years, birds will get most of your berries; unless you put netting over the bushes while you’re gone for weeks, which often results in coming back and finding dead birds stuck in the netting.
posted by clew at 10:30 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
On your schedule, most years, birds will get most of your berries; unless you put netting over the bushes while you’re gone for weeks, which often results in coming back and finding dead birds stuck in the netting.
posted by clew at 10:30 AM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Do you own the surrounding trees? - I would put a few on the kill-list and give myself more light. Even just removing half of them on the sun side would make a big difference. I normally kill them standing (with a herbicide) and they fall apart slowly over time - a little management when they are deader but manageable.
posted by unearthed at 10:31 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by unearthed at 10:31 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you're going to do that, consider coppicing or pollarding instead.
posted by aniola at 10:57 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by aniola at 10:57 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Good advice all. I'll add two things:
1. Beware of mint! It will take over everything and you will never be rid of it. Plant in pots only.
2. Best thing I ever did in a children's garden was a tent of scarlet runner beans. They loved it. Enough sun? Well, give it a try. Seeds are cheap. But critters love beans.
posted by evilmomlady at 12:30 PM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
1. Beware of mint! It will take over everything and you will never be rid of it. Plant in pots only.
2. Best thing I ever did in a children's garden was a tent of scarlet runner beans. They loved it. Enough sun? Well, give it a try. Seeds are cheap. But critters love beans.
posted by evilmomlady at 12:30 PM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
"A big warning, though: I don't know that part of the country at all, but it sure looks like good deer territory to me".
100% yes, tons of deer. I would say I see them daily, year-round. There are possibly a few less up there since there's a firearms hunting season, where I am is crossbow only. On that note, I'd get your 3 year old used to a daily full body tick check routine as well, if they are outside at all they are almost guaranteed to have a few get attached throughout the spring / summer / fall.
posted by true at 12:44 PM on March 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
100% yes, tons of deer. I would say I see them daily, year-round. There are possibly a few less up there since there's a firearms hunting season, where I am is crossbow only. On that note, I'd get your 3 year old used to a daily full body tick check routine as well, if they are outside at all they are almost guaranteed to have a few get attached throughout the spring / summer / fall.
posted by true at 12:44 PM on March 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I've found a tick in between my then three-year old's eye lashes. I'm still impressed at how cool she was when I approached her eyes with tweezers.
I've seen the above comments about mint and have to say: I've several times planted mint where I wanted them to take over the whole area, to no avail. I mean, I do have some mint and it is fine, but I do not have vast invasive covers.
I love waking up to see deer grazing in the garden. But they are also a pest preventing me from growing anything interesting. They don't like lavender or oregano, but those plants need sun, so are probably not for you. They nibble on the lilacs, which I had to cut down some years ago, but they seem to be coming back slowly, in spite of the deer attacks. Lilacs need sun, too, if not as much as the lavender.
posted by mumimor at 1:29 PM on March 15, 2021
I've seen the above comments about mint and have to say: I've several times planted mint where I wanted them to take over the whole area, to no avail. I mean, I do have some mint and it is fine, but I do not have vast invasive covers.
I love waking up to see deer grazing in the garden. But they are also a pest preventing me from growing anything interesting. They don't like lavender or oregano, but those plants need sun, so are probably not for you. They nibble on the lilacs, which I had to cut down some years ago, but they seem to be coming back slowly, in spite of the deer attacks. Lilacs need sun, too, if not as much as the lavender.
posted by mumimor at 1:29 PM on March 15, 2021
I suggest you start by raking away the leaf cover to see what the soil is like. There might be a lot of fine roots there. Also ask the former owner or maybe the neighbor to see if the plot was gardened organically. A soil test might be the best approach to be sure the soil is safe to grow plants that you'll be eating.
In a way you're lucky to have those trees providing a mulch over the winter without having to haul them in. You can leave them on over the winter to protect the soil, then rake them away wherever you want the soil to warm up in the spring.
Lettuce and other leafy vegetables can survive in shade. Asian vegetables will self-seed if you leave them alone and you'll have volunteers in the fall and next spring.
Potatoes are a good clearing crop and fun to harvest. Kids like a posy bean tepee. Please don't plant honeysuckle, which is an invasive. Mint escapes and turns up in odd places so it's best in a pot, but it'll try to sneak out the drainage hole.
Sadly I have to second/third the tick warnings. Make it an end of the day check for kids and yourselves, every day, even the first few days after you've returned from this house.
posted by sevenstars at 5:00 PM on March 15, 2021
In a way you're lucky to have those trees providing a mulch over the winter without having to haul them in. You can leave them on over the winter to protect the soil, then rake them away wherever you want the soil to warm up in the spring.
Lettuce and other leafy vegetables can survive in shade. Asian vegetables will self-seed if you leave them alone and you'll have volunteers in the fall and next spring.
Potatoes are a good clearing crop and fun to harvest. Kids like a posy bean tepee. Please don't plant honeysuckle, which is an invasive. Mint escapes and turns up in odd places so it's best in a pot, but it'll try to sneak out the drainage hole.
Sadly I have to second/third the tick warnings. Make it an end of the day check for kids and yourselves, every day, even the first few days after you've returned from this house.
posted by sevenstars at 5:00 PM on March 15, 2021
Garrison is such a pretty, cozy place. Cornell Cooperative Extension, Gardening in Putnam County site; food gardening; "hotline." Similar to evilmomlady's scarlet-bean tent suggestion: a sunflower "house," should any spot get enough light. It's a great kid-friendly project, from picking the sunflower packets, soaking the seeds, planting, and fertilizing, to the final living fort. I'd pass on the morning-glory vines, though, especially if you plan to collect and eat the sunflower seeds.
I am also in favor of raised garden beds (and if shade wins out, ferns). You may want to stick to container gardening these first couple of years until you have a better sense of your garden plot; there's still a lot to interest your 3-year-old, and if any container plant starts to suffer from the lack of sun, you can plop it on a wagon and re-locate it to a sunnier spot for resuscitation. Whether or not the plot is conducive to the type of gardening you have in mind, the area could be divided into seating, dining, and play areas, and small-scale walking labyrinths are still neat. (All of which would still be nice for your family during cooler weather.) If you created an outdoor room effect, containers, tiers, and vertical planters could meet your herb & vegetable growing needs. Lastly, low-effort and fun for kids (first growing, and then using in meals and crafts): edible flowers.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:33 PM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
I am also in favor of raised garden beds (and if shade wins out, ferns). You may want to stick to container gardening these first couple of years until you have a better sense of your garden plot; there's still a lot to interest your 3-year-old, and if any container plant starts to suffer from the lack of sun, you can plop it on a wagon and re-locate it to a sunnier spot for resuscitation. Whether or not the plot is conducive to the type of gardening you have in mind, the area could be divided into seating, dining, and play areas, and small-scale walking labyrinths are still neat. (All of which would still be nice for your family during cooler weather.) If you created an outdoor room effect, containers, tiers, and vertical planters could meet your herb & vegetable growing needs. Lastly, low-effort and fun for kids (first growing, and then using in meals and crafts): edible flowers.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:33 PM on March 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Personally I'd go for perennials, shrubs, and trees. I'd like to come back to them summer after summer and see how they are.
+1 to berry bushes, blueberries/huckleberries and raspberries and blackberries, they can handle partial shade, also +1 to rhubarb if you can visit often enough in the spring to see it and harvest some. Asparagus I seen reports of deer going after. (I haven't grown in deer country but I've seen deer-country gardens that looked like tennis courts.)
With the warning that I'm just Googling "deer": sage and lovage both seem likely perennial herbs for you. Chives (not invasive garlic chives) and other alliums. Mint with warnings. Cole crops like kale will tolerate a lot, and reseed. And look, if you're gardening for fun, you're not obligated to keep up eating them if you don't want, just nibble the flowers.
The classic needy garden vegetables like tomatoes and peppers are not likely to work with limited sun in your climate, but you can certainly bring in some potted seedlings and see what happens. They're going to need regular watering, unless you're going to be happy hoping it rains on the weekends you're not there, which would bug me personally.
I've seen corn grown in much less sun than I thought it needed, but I haven't done that.
posted by away for regrooving at 12:04 AM on March 16, 2021
+1 to berry bushes, blueberries/huckleberries and raspberries and blackberries, they can handle partial shade, also +1 to rhubarb if you can visit often enough in the spring to see it and harvest some. Asparagus I seen reports of deer going after. (I haven't grown in deer country but I've seen deer-country gardens that looked like tennis courts.)
With the warning that I'm just Googling "deer
The classic needy garden vegetables like tomatoes and peppers are not likely to work with limited sun in your climate, but you can certainly bring in some potted seedlings and see what happens. They're going to need regular watering, unless you're going to be happy hoping it rains on the weekends you're not there, which would bug me personally.
I've seen corn grown in much less sun than I thought it needed, but I haven't done that.
posted by away for regrooving at 12:04 AM on March 16, 2021
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posted by Redstart at 8:00 AM on March 15, 2021 [5 favorites]