589: Starting an Organic Orchard.

Gardening tips, tricks, and advice in short bite-size episodes.

Do you ever wish you could catch those tidbits of wisdom that some people throw out without warning?

Well, in our new Farmer Fridays episodes – Farmer Greg shares quick thoughts, revelations, tips, and general farming advice in bite-sized and fun episodes. Sometimes it might be Greg just sharing a thought that hit him while working in the yard, or a really cool inspiration from the garden, and occasionally he’ll answer some listener questions. Other times he will catch a moment with a farming friend or podcast guest to share educational farming tidbits.  This quick podcast episode is designed to be brief and not take up your day. So… listen in and enjoy this Garden snack…

In This Bite:

 Greg Peterson chats with the Urban Farm General Manager, Janis Norton, as she shares the story behind how she and Greg met, what led Janis to the world of organic gardening, and how she transformed her backyard from a dead & barren, desert-dirt slab to a vibrant and green, food producing urban jungle.

Here are some pictures of the process: 

Month one: Bare desert dirt yard – a huge dust problem, and slow to absorb water. Approximately a foot or two below this compacted dirt was a 6″-18″ layer of caliche – a natural hardened cement commonly found in the Arizona desert made of calcium carbonate, sand, clay and silt. 

The smaller of two woody mulch deliveries from Chip Drop, which was hauled one wheelbarrow at a time to the back yard.

Later that Summer: Janis’ Back Yard filled with wood chip mulch from ChipDrop. This made a HUGE difference in the dust coming into the house – and eliminated all flooding problems.

Early Next Summer: Added terraced wall (to raise ground level),
new fruit trees, grape trellis, and lots of mulch in foreground.

And the NEXT Summer: Orchard path at Two Peace in a Pod orchard BEFORE the sweet potatoes woke up.

Orchard path at Two Peace in a Pod orchard AFTER the sweet potatoes woke up.

Ray in middle of sweet potatoes around end of October.

Last Fall: South east view of orchard from patio showing 9 fruit trees, grape trellis with two visibly grape vines, small retaining wall, and a trough garden bed. Lots of mulch everywhere. (Big mesquite tree is in neighbors yard).

South west view of Two Peace orchard from patio showing two grape vines on the trellis in front of 8 trees, several potted items, and garden seating. Lots of mulch everywhere.