Every year I grow a small vegetable garden on a plot that I rent. For the past 3 years, I've been renting from the same farmer. It's convenient being close enough to my house to walk to, the soil is fertile and there is plenty of water and even tools to use.
Here you can see my plot, it's shaped like a triangle. The 2 rows covered with plastic to the right are not mine and neither is the messy slope to the left. So it's the area in between. The full area is about 27 meters squared which is about 20% smaller than the 33 meters squared I usually go for. I saved 25% off the fee.
After spreading a mix of compost and manure and adding some chemical fertilizer pellets (organic ones), I made 3 rows. My idea this year was to be simple. It's also why I went with the smaller plot. I have a new baby in the house and not as much free time as I like. And perhaps more important, mommy is too busy to come by and water the plants so I need to do it after work on the weekdays.
After digging the rows, I cover them in vinyl. The reason I do it is that everyone does it. Also once you go black vinyl, you never go back! It stops weeds, stops evaporation, and keeps the soil warmer. Also, because I only keep this land one year, I can't do anything fancy like build garden boxes. And for those who do farming or more intensive gardening, rows are the way to go, it keeps everything organized. But that's where my organization stops.
Finally, it's time to start planting. I bought some beets, celery and lettuce (head lettuce and romaine). I also poked some holes and planted seeds. My plan is usually to try seeds and then just buy seedlings in a few weeks if they don't sprout and move around some of the ones that do sprout. I've never grown peanuts from seeds before and I want peanuts, so let's see.
This is what my garden looked like today I know it's may 1st, but hey yesterday's photo wasn't as nice
Well, a few weeks later some of the seeds sprouted - including some of the peanuts! But I also bought more seedlings - corn and peanuts. Now I have sweetcorn, peanuts, sunflowers, cilantro, and carrots, as well. The only things I didn't grow from seeds were celery. It was a big week (well not as bad as digging rows) because I also moved some of the seedlings around and did the first bit of weeding.
Here is a view from the back. It's easiest to get a sense of the shape from this side. As you can see one of the rows had to curve and there is less space between the rows as they meet. I think the setup is good and after some heavy rain, the runoff drained as it was supposed to. Korea has monsoon seasons and if you don't plan accordingly, hopefully, you are growing rice or other swamp plants!
You may ask why I have the steel poles? I like to put one on each end of the row- no reason, just an odd habit. I may add more for the heck of it, or if I need to support plants. This year I avoided stuff like tomatoes and peppers that need support. I have enough dried peppers from previous years still and tomatoes are just too much work with the pruning and supporting. I'm trying to grow easy stuff. That's also why I avoided potatoes and other crops that involve a lot of digging.
As you can see, I hand water my plants. Using the sprinkler is for people who enjoy wasting water or don't know what they are doing (set up proper irrigation like drip lines, or use a garden hose). The farmer used to have a hose, but people were abusing it. I remember seeing some moron flooding their rows like they were growing rice or something. They said it was their secret method, that person was not invited back to farm here.
As you can see, I've planted a few things outside of the vinyl. These are just sunflowers and I'm probably not going to harvest them. I just want them because they look pretty. You may also notice channels are forming, this is the end most of the water drains from. There were a few small rain showers, but one good one and I'm guessing we will see deeper channels.
Finally, we have a view of the full farm. Mine is in the top left. There are about 20 plots total being rented out most are 33m^2. The farmer uses the rest for his own purpose. He has a few ornamental trees behind where I'm standing and over at the far end he has a few fields where he is growing peppers and other stuff. I'm not sure how much land he has in total, but if I had to guess about 2000~2500m^2. Farms aren't that big in Korea. Also, this is just on the outskirts of the city and probably worth a fortune if he can get the right permit to sell.
The last picture is a view of the farming area. Most of these farms are owned by other people. They aren't divided up as much either. Some of them have nice spots to BBQ or hang out. My farm area is really hard to spot because it is way in the back (maybe center right). I like how the landscape looks all growing season long.
I'm trying to grow ginger, but it's too early to plant and hasn't fully sprouted indoors yet. Other than that and moving a few things around, I'm done until I start harvesting. Beets and carrots will be planted all summer, then I'll remove everything and plant fall crops - napa cabbage and daikon radish to make pickled kimchi stuff for "Kim-Jang".
I'll share stories of my garden progress once a month.