Mavis Mail – Ann From Eastern Oregon Sends in Garden Pics

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other people’s pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!

~Mavis

This post finds us transported to rural Eastern Oregon where reader, Ann, gives gardening another go:

Hello Mavis,

Ann from Eastern Oregon here. I have been enjoying your blog for about 8 months now. After gazing longingly {and, I must admit, a bit enviously} at your beautiful garden and green house, I have been inspired to take another stab at vegetable gardening after a long hiatus. Thank you for the gardening tips, the DIY products, the recipes and the leads on good reads from Amazon!

So here’s my story:

When I mention to out-of-the-area folks that I am from Oregon the typical response is: “Oh, I’ve been to Oregon! It’s sooooooo green and Portland is such a cool city!” Well, my stomping grounds are about 300 miles east of the lush greenness and the metro area. Here in rural Eastern Oregon we have wide open spaces, beautiful rugged mountains and an abundance of wildlife, cattle and farm land.

We are blessed with ample opportunity to harvest and preserve a variety of produce {both wild and domestic}. We have had a bumper crop of huckleberries this year and through the generosity of friends and friends-of-friends I have also been able to harvest and preserve bing cherries, sour cherries, apricots and {soon} apples!
In my particular corner of the state {the far NE corner} we have high desert conditions with sage brush, mountains and large working cattle ranches. The 4-season weather can be a challenge and it’s important to heed the advice of the old-time gardeners: “Don’t plant your pots until after Mother’s Day. Don’t put your garden in until the snow is off of Lookout {a nearby mountain}.” The weather challenge doesn’t just involve temps, but also wind {the strong, gusty kind}. This causes a gardener to contemplate plant types {no wimpy, tender types need apply} and location, location, location {the sheltered-from-the-wind type of location}. In addition to weather conditions, I am particularly challenged by soil conditions {the chalky, alkali-type}. Needless to say it’s taken some creativity, tenacity and just plain bullheadedness to get things to grow and thrive on our little 5-acre slice of Terra firma.

As you will see from the before and after pictures things look pretty bleak in the spring. Miraculously, with a little {okay a LOT of} soil enrichment and selective placement of plants {i.e. containers and raised beds} and selective selection of plants,things will eventually grow and bloom! I have learned {through trial and error} which plants will tolerate the conditions and have been pleased with the results.

Sunflowers are particularly happy here and I’ve enjoyed growing a variety of sizes and colors. My family and I enjoy not only the bright, cheerfulness they bring, but also the abundance of insects they attract: ladybugs, honey bees, in particular.

We have big plans next spring for a REAL garden. Because we own horses, chickens and our 2 oldest children have pigs for 4-H projects, we have accumulated copious amounts of terrific organic material. Over the past 2 years, as we clean pens, we’ve created a LARGE compost pile that we are tilling and turning and should be ready for spring planting.

This year we had to settle for corn and lettuce grown along-side flowers in the raised beds.

Although the weather and soil conditions make gardening in our area a challenge, we feel so blessed to live where we are surrounded only by mountains, cattle and terrific people!

Sincerely,

Ann from E. Oregon

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

• Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so,  show me some picture of how you are going about it.
• Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
• Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
• Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
• Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go  HERE for the official rules.