The 4 am Freak Out

As I tossed and turned and tried my hardest to stay asleep, my mind just wouldn't let me! Over and over in my head, I reconfigured and designed the layout of my side garden. Not really something worth stressing over, but the anxiety of getting it right was plaguing me to the point of insomnia. Let me explain.

I have two gardens, yes, two.

Our large garden space is located in the back yard. This is where we plant our normal garden vegetables for us to use during the typical gardening season. By having a garden, I get to enjoy fresh, local produce all summer and into the early fall. This saves me tons of money and makes gardening season my favorite time of year to cook and try new recipes!

Our smaller, yet still decently sized, garden is located on the side of our house. Once a large patch of grass, I had an epiphany and asked my husband to help me tear out the grass, till the soil, and create this second garden space. My epiphany was to give myself enough space and incentive to have a garden plot solely dedicated to the purpose of canning. Each year we will plant one type of produce and can / freeze / or dehydrate.

In a nut shell, two gardens - One to eat out of all season, and one for food storage.

I spent most of my day yesterday sifting through the freshly tilled dirt, (Thanks Hubby!), and pulling out left over weed root and rocks that were turned up. I then raked through and created my two planting rows that run lengthwise through the garden. To finish it off, I placed stepping pavers down the center of the long rows. Then I bought my seeds!

This year, I am planting green beans to can. I have three varieties of beans and two types of plant. I am planting Kentucky Wonder (Pole), Yellow (Bush), and Burgundy/Purple (Bush). My dilemma is the placement of the sprinkler heads and the direction of the sunlight in that garden. This garden is long and narrow with two sprinkler heads running lengthwise spraying across the width. If I plant two horizontal lines running parallel with the sprinkler heads Which Type do I plant in front (furthest from sprinklers)? Bush or Pole? Pole would cast shadow over the Bush blocking proper sun exposure. But Pole in the back (closest to the sprinkler heads), could block the water from reaching the bushes in front. SEE?...DILEMMA!

By 4 am, I couldn't take the sleeplessness anymore! I got out of bed, and spent the next 2 hours deep cleaning and creating a spotless kitchen. During which the thought hit me... Maybe a multitude of short rows running widthwise? Huh! I might have to undo some of my work from yesterday, but I think it might just solve the problem!

Oh, how I wish I could take a nap now!