Elegant Efficiency : Brenda Gaisor's Organic Garden

Brenda Gaisor loves being efficient, and she had long considered the organic food-growing potential of her sunny backyard, that until now, had only grown grass, and a handful of culinary herbs and tomato plants. On rainy days, she pondered how some of that water gushing from her downspouts might be collected and used to water plants instead, and had long intended to divert all those  coffee grinds, egg shells, and apple cores from the trash bin to a compost bin. She dreamed about having an organic garden like the ones in all the fine gardening magazines, and a few years ago, even bought a book on composting. Encouraged by these examples, and the firm belief that “food is thy medicine, and medicine they food”, she selected a sunny nook, tucked behind a wall alongside the house for an organic garden, compost bin and rainwater harvesting tank. 

 

Brenda liked the smart appearance of the 18” tall Kitchen Garden design, which features a sturdy, comfortable  seating cap. The Kitchen Garden raised bed design has two huge advantages for gardeners. One is that, being the height of a typical bench or chair seat, it makes gardening much more comfortable. The other key advantage to the 18” height, is that it makes the garden virtually inaccessible to the hungry rabbits that can lay claim to some small corner of nearly every suburban backyard.

Brenda Gaisor's Organic Garden from Microfarm Organic Gardens on Vimeo.

Our Kitchen Garden raised beds are made with untreated red cedar, which is naturally resistant to decay and insects, and once the garden beds are leveled and staked in place, they’re filled with an OMRI approved, organic soil and amendment blend. We installed Brenda’s garden in October, and planted an assortment of cool season varieties, including Marathon broccoli, Amara mustard greens, Georgia collard greens, arugula, and a mix of lettuces. In just two weeks they harvested their first salad greens!

 

Brenda was already sold on the idea of using a compost bin to recycle plant-based kitchen waste like coffee grinds, egg shells, and apple cores, into compost for her garden, but loved that ,with our spacious cedar compost bin design, she can add grass clippings and leaves to the list as well. Our compost bin is made with the same untreated red cedar that we use for garden beds, chicken coops, greenhouses, and other garden projects, and it has excellent air circulation, and features removable slats in front, for easy access to the compost pile. 

And while there is a spigot just a few feet away from the garden, Brenda wanted to harvest rainwater to use during the drier summer months. She selected a 200 gallon above ground rainwater storage tank, which we connected using a special diverter that allows water to bypass the tank, once it fills up. This simple method helps avoid water damage to a home’s foundation, that can happen if a rain tank overflows in a heavy rainstorm.