Back to Eden Garden: Midsummer Update

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Back in the spring I shared with you Our Back to Eden Garden. This was our first year trying this new method, so I thought I would share a midsummer update with pictures and my thoughts about this type of gardening.

Before I start talking about our garden it is important to note that we haven’t had very cooperative weather this year. It was cold and rainy when we needed sunny days for seed to sprout, and then it just got hot (really hot), and dry when we needed rain. I feel with the difficult weather we have really put this method to the test.

As you can see below, even with the bad weather we didn’t have any trouble getting things to grow. The mulch worked as a perfect barrier for our plants absorbing the extra rain when we had to much, and supplying moisture when it was dry.

I know most of my pictures just look like a blur of green, but there really is a row separating these plants. The picture above is our slicing tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon. It is amazing to see the melons climbing up the trellis. We plan on placing the melons in onion bags or pantyhose to help them support them as they grow.

On the other side of the garden we had cucumbers, corn, beans, tomatoes, and peppers. Our beans were actually done by the time I took this picture. We enjoyed several pots of fresh green beans and had enough left over to share with family. Next year we will plant more in hopes of having some to put up.

My husband loved coming home to walk through the garden and check on how things were growing. He said it was very relaxing. I don’t think relaxing is usually the word that comes to mind when people think of vegetable gardening, but for him it was. I think this was a direct result of having a back to eden garden.

The hardest part of this garden was spreading the mulch, but after that was done and the seeds were planted it was pretty laid back. We didn’t have to pull any weeds or continuously water. To have a beautiful luscious garden like this without watering is amazing when you consider we have had hardly any rain and days well into the 90’s, some very close to a 100.

Yes, that is a little boy hiding in the tomatoes below. Gardening was very much a family activity.

To hear farmer after farmer talk about how this has been such a bad year, it is encouraging to see how well things have grown. From what I have seen this year I’m definitely convinced this method of gardening is the way to do it! I was convinced when I didn’t have to pull weeds in 98 degree weather. I think I would have thrown in the towel on gardening pretty early if I had to be out in this heat for very long (I’m not a fan of sweating.)

I can’t wait to share with you the details of our harvest. We have been able to enjoy a few ripe tomatoes, and there is really nothing like it. I hope to be able to put up several quarts of tomatoes for winter.

Did you plant a garden this year? How is it going? If you have any Back to Eden garden questions please let me know, I would love to share more with you.