Suburban Gardening - Pallets, Fruit Trees, Sprouting Containers, and Sunflower Stalk Trellises

For nearly 20 years we lived in Michigan in quiet country farmhouse built in 1880 nestled on 2 beautiful green acres.  We always had the most amazing vegetable garden (nearly a quarter of an acre).  When my work transferred us to a suburban neighborhood in Utah we went through withdrawal.  Our whole yard in Utah was roughly the size of our vegetable garden in Michigan.  What's more Utah is a desert which means that whatever you grow will require deliberate watering whereas the precipitation and humidity in Michigan pretty well kept our vegetables watered and growing like weeds--well actually the climate there gave all our crops, including the weeds, a supernatural boost so even though our vegetables grew beautifully they couldn't begin to keep up with the weeds.  We loved our place in Michigan so much we have kept it for past 9 years and are just now in the process of selling it.  

Our desire for elbow room led us to buy a second Utah home in the mountains.  It's an old hand-built Pioneer farmhouse from 1890 on 2 acres that we call "Willow Creek" after the GIANT grandmother-willow tree in the front yard that is over 100 years old.  Unfortunately the growing season is quite short and since we only get down there every week or two it's hard to maintain a garden.  Nevertheless we are die-hard wannabe farmers so we have persisted in growing food anywhere and any way we can at our neighborhood home.  For instance, we have a large prolific walnut tree in the yard that gives us bushels of nuts every year.  We have two apple trees for apple sauce as well as a delightful nectarine tree that bears an abundance of the sweetest nectarines you've ever tasted.  A couple of years ago we converted the six 12" diameter holes in the sidewalk along our front curb (see the photos on the upper left of the collage below) to growing tomatoes rather than  flowers.  

When we first arrived we built some raised beds in the backyard but the roots of the walnut tree poison most vegetable plants so they have not been very productive.  This year however, we decided to try an idea Linda saw on Pinterest regarding pallet gardens.

How to build raised-bed pallet gardens for intensive vegetable gardening:

We hauled in two yards of "black gold" compost from our local recycling organization, stapled down black weed-guard, put down some used pallets I picked up for free from a nearby construction site's dumpster, and then filled them with the composted soil.  The boards of the pallet act as the ultimate mulch to keep the weeds down.  You put the seeds/plants in the "furrows" between the slats of the pallet (see the photo collage above).

One of the things we love to eat are fresh green beans, especially the "pole" or climbing varieties.  Last year we put in a field of giant sunflowers at Willow Creek--our mountain home.  While cleaning out the dried-up stalks this Spring I decided that they would make a nice trellis for growing climbing beans.  The resulting trellis was not only free but gives our backyard garden a natural decorative look.

How to make a Sunflower-Stalk Trellis for climbing plants:

First you need to grow some giant sunflowers (see the photo in the upper left of the collage).  Leave the stalks up for the winter.  In the Spring pull them out of the ground root ball and all.  Shake the dirt off and select the tallest and strongest stalks.  We decided on three teepees for our trellis but this structure could have continued down a long row with as many teepees as desired.  They are simple to set up.  Tie three of them together with twine at the top near where they curve (i.e. where the flowers are).  Spread the legs into a tripod teepee.  Dig holes and insert the root ball ends into them and bury with dirt.  Tie on three crossbeam supports--one near the bottom to the outer legs of the three teepees, another half-way up to the center legs of the teepees, and the last one toward the top to the inner legs of the teepees.  Now sow the seeds of your climbing plants all around the base of the teepees and train them up when they grow.

By the way, a great way to sprout seeds is to use those plastic clam-shell containers you get strawberries in.  Just fill them with potting soil, plant your seeds, saturate with water and close the tops. The holes in the top and bottom provide for ventilation and drainage while providing a mini-greenhouse  environment which is perfect for sprouting.

These are just some of the suburban gardening ideas we've been implementing this year.  Try some of them and use the comments to share what is working for you.