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Round Recession Garden

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Great Recession Garden

Recession garden is a term derived from the victory gardens that were popular during the former World Wars. Our site intends to document our summer adventures in an attempt to produce a bounty crop from a small piece of land in east-central Wisconsin. No professional growers live here; just a small family who enjoys being outside in the beautiful Wisconsin summers growing and eating delicious vegetables. Links to an abundance of Wisconsin garden information can be found at the lens bottom. We always encourage comments and suggestions.
Our garden has very humble beginnings. The previous owners had an above-ground swimming pool that we had removed when we purchased the house. We had mulled over what to do with the round, blank space for two years. Finally we had a revelation, and decided to add some topsoil to the compressed sand base, and create a garden. That was the spring of 2009, and the economy was already into major trouble. Our Recession Garden was born.

2012 Garden Layout

February - First Pass Garden Layout (illustraion created with MS-VIsio)

2011 Garden Layout

Layout pretty much the same as last year's design that never happened. Hopefully a better fence will prevent a rabbit attack. Adding spinach around the tomato plants this year.

Rev B after it was suggested to move the tomatoes/spinach to a different area of the garden. Swapped it with the zucchini.

What Happened

No activity in 2011

Yes, sad but true, the Recession Garden of 2011 never materialized. A few factors derailed the project this year. First, we had an extended winter which quickly went into summer with very little spring. But even more damaging was the family schedule. Both parents are now working full time, and with middle school activities, time was at a premium. Before we knew it, we were preparing for July 4th and nothing was planted. Yikes!!!
We really missed the garden this year, and now that we are re-discovering our routines, we are already planning for 2012. Will be replacing the fence around the perimeter, and working some new soil and fertilizer into the ground before planting.

We inherited some raspberry shoots this summer. Planted them (then got busy and forgot them for a week) and only one survived. We have been nursing that one this fall, and it should be good. Am considering replacing a nearby wild flower area with blueberry bushes. So stay tuned.

Considering Raspberries/Blackberries

Just added a couple of Raspberry starter canes near the Recession Garden. Better use of space then pruning ornamental bushes that don't contribute anything. Am also considering a few Blackberry canes to round out the area.

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Mulberry Tree

a neighbor to the round recession garden

A corner of our yard not far from the Round Recession Garden will soon be home to a Dwarf Mulberry Tree. Check out this lens as the tree is planted and quickly grows.

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Up, Up and growing away

July 2010 - Rabbit Attack

Rabbit Attack

Didn't have this problem last year, but this year the rabbits have eaten about half of the bush bean plants, about half the okra, about 1/3 of the snap peas, ALL the cucumber plants and ALL of two plantings of my soybeans. We believe it was the baby rabbits that were getting under the fence. Now that the remaining plants are getting bigger, they don't like them as much, and the damage has decreased. The final solution was provided as our Schnauzers attacked and killed at least 4 baby bunnies earlier this week. Haven't seen any rabbits in the yard since. Click on our Standard Schnauzer Squidoo Lens to read about that night....

Have planted some cucumber seeds in a container on the deck, and plan to plant some soybeans in the other deck container.

2010 Season In Review

24 May - This weekend we roto-tilled the space, re-installed the rabbit fence, and planted the sweet corn, snap peas, edible soybeans and carrots. Placed the sprinkler in the middle and routed the water hose. Also completed the spring weeding around the rocks and the garden, thanks to my wife. Looks good enough to take a picture of, so I did. The Hostas and other ornamental plants around the outer edge are carry-overs from when this was an above ground swimming pool. They add some color to the garden in the spring.

24 May - This weekend we roto-tilled the space, re-installed the rabbit fence, and planted the sweet corn, snap peas, edible soybeans and carrots. Placed the sprinkler in the middle and routed the water hose. Also completed the spring weeding around the rocks and the garden, thanks to my wife. Looks good enough to take a picture of, so I did. The Hostas and other ornamental plants around the outer edge are carry-overs from when this was an above ground swimming pool. They add some color to the garden in the spring.

24 May - This weekend we roto-tilled the space, re-installed the rabbit fence, and planted the sweet corn, snap peas, edible soybeans and carrots. Placed the sprinkler in the middle and routed the water hose. Also completed the spring weeding around the rocks and the garden, thanks to my wife. Looks good enough to take a picture of, so I did. The Hostas and other ornamental plants around the outer edge are carry-overs from when this was an above ground swimming pool. They add some color to the garden in the spring.
16 June - Today we ran into some close-out specials on left-over pepper plants, and some Roma Tomatoes. Couldn't resist the prices, so we picked them up. No banana peppers, but many colors of sweet peppers (green, yellow, orange, purple & red). Put in the stakes to attach the string to support the snap peas.

2009 - Our First Recession Garden

a photo gallery of the first year

A cold spring provided a slow start to everything, except the hostsa, that were left overs from the pool and make a nice border decoration in the spring thru summer. I mounted a rotating sprinkler onto an over-turned bucket for an efficient irrigation pattern. We planted tomatoes, sweet corn and sunflowers around the outer circle. A mid-circle consisted of snap peas, snow peas, okra, edible soybeans, pumpkin and cucumbers. The inner circle contained green, red and banana peppers.

A cold spring provided a slow start to everything, except the hostsa, that were left overs from the pool and make a nice border decoration in the spring thru summer. I mounted a rotating sprinkler onto an over-turned bucket for an efficient irrigation pattern. We planted tomatoes, sweet corn and sunflowers around the outer circle. A mid-circle consisted of snap peas, snow peas, okra, edible soybeans, pumpkin and cucumbers. The inner circle contained green, red and banana peppers.

A cold spring provided a slow start to everything, except the hostsa, that were left overs from the pool and make a nice border decoration in the spring thru summer. I mounted a rotating sprinkler onto an over-turned bucket for an efficient irrigation pattern. We planted tomatoes, sweet corn and sunflowers around the outer circle. A mid-circle consisted of snap peas, snow peas, okra, edible soybeans, pumpkin and cucumbers. The inner circle contained green, red and banana peppers.
July: Snap peas and snow peas are being harvested every other day now. YUM!! Tomatoes are forming. Corn is now "knee-high". Sunflowers are taking off. Everything is looking pretty good.
October: Official burning of the garden remains. Season over.

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Recession Garden News

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They don't believe city dwellers should be totally reliant on big supermarket chains for food and subscribe to the view that growing at least some of your own food is a ?smart move?. ?Community gardening, co-ops, produce markets, food pools, ...
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Food labels are confusing, and sometimes even misleading, but when you grow and cook your own meals, you know exactly how much?or how little?chemicals, additives and preservatives have gone into your food. The only problem is that most of us don't ...
The right way to grow your own
There is a need in the community to grow your own food, she says. "A lot of people don't know how. It is not until people start putting things in the garden and have some successes and persistent failures." Often there are simple solutions that she can ...
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Wisconsin Gardening Links

National Gardening Association - Wisconsin
additional information on gardening in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Gardening Online
lots of good information here about gardening in Wisconsin
Edible Landscaping Online
a great source for all types of edible landscaping, not based in Wisconsin (they are in Virginia) but fantastic products and they stand behind what they sell.

Garden Supplies on Amazon

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Cool Garden Posters

Fresh Picked Sweet Corn
Fresh Picked Sweet Corn Art Print
Brown, David...
12 in. x 12 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com


Fruits & Vegetables Sign
Fruits & Vegetables Sign
Michaels, Madison
14 in. x 11 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com

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WiscBear

When the weather is good, the family enjoys keeping up with the yard work, and maintaining our "recession garden" in east-central Wisconsin.

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