Vegetable gardening in the front yard

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This article was published 22/10/2018 (2741 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The corn was as tall as a moose’s antlers in a Kylemore Avenue front yard this summer.

“The corn creates a microclimate that helps protect the tomatoes, lettuce and beans,” said gardener Tracy Taylor, who bought the house on Kylemore in 2017.

Taylor cleaned up the back yard of her house the year she bought it. This year, in view of the sun exposure, she decided to plant vegetables on one side of the front yard.

Taylor practices lasagna gardening, a method that eliminates the need for digging and tilling the earth.

Patricia Lanza is the author of Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Beautiful Gardens — No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding. Lanza’s book encouraged Taylor to garden.

Taylor began by placing three layers of wet newspapers on the grass, which kills the grass. Compost followed by topsoil went on top of the newspapers, creating a no-dig garden.

Taylor planted the seeds close together in blocks rather than in rows.

“It’s the European way,” she said.

And it worked. Taylor gave away tomatoes and potatoes. She also showed her young neighbours how to pick certain vegetables to take home. The corn sentinels protected delicious tasting sugar peas and more than one crop of lettuce.

“There was virtually no vandalism,” said Taylor, though she admits to some squirrel activity.

Many of Taylor’s produce comes from heirloom plants. She saves seeds from season to season and has also bought heirloom seeds. Heirloom vegetables are open-pollinated instead of hybrid. The seeds are handed down by families just as an antique desk might be handed down.

Yellow pear tomatoes, Principe Borghese and green zebra tomatoes that stay green but taste red are heirloom plants that thrived in Taylor’s garden. Heirloom morning glory adorned her front railing, but its flowers did not bloom. Maybe they will put on a show next summer.

Taylor grew 77 pansies from seed. Almost all of them matured. After a recent snowfall I saw several of those bright and colourful pansy faces still standing in Taylor’s garden.

The garden provides nourishment throughout the winter. Dried garden tomatoes, especially the Principe Borgheses, are used in Taylor’s soups and sauces.

Next year Taylor will continue and wonders if other Lord Roberts residents are interested in planting their vegetable gardens in their front yards.

Dianne Doney is a community correspondent for Fort Rouge. You can contact her at diannemary@hotmail.com