Garden Sharing
Welcome to Our (Insanity) Garden
Gardening is who we are. It’s as natural to us as breathing. We love to grow our own food, and honestly, we think it’s kind of magical. Our grandson Dallas was about eight, eating lunch with us one day, when he let out a big sigh and said, “There’s nothing like eating real food.” We couldn’t agree more.
We’ve picked up so many ideas from other people’s blogs and garden sites over the years, so we thought, why not share ours? This is where we figure things out. It’s messy, it’s real, and it’s ours. We’re not experts, but we’re happy to show you what we’re doing, what we’ve learned, and how we keep at it. It’s part record, part story, and hopefully a spark of encouragement for anyone out there digging in the dirt like we are. Come along for the ride!
The History
We’ve been gardening on this property since 2003. In 2009, we moved the garden to its current location and began shaping the space into what it is today. The left half of the garden, the east garden, now has over 9 inches of beautiful soil that we’ve built up over time. We used our trusty backhoe, Suzy, to break through the compacted glacier till that covers most of our property (a mix of rocks with a bit of dirt on top).
To create durable, low-maintenance paths between beds, we laid down cardboard and topped it with wood chips as mulch. Every year we add manure from our own chickens, along with horse manure generously provided by a neighbor. This cycle of amendment and observation helps us continually improve the soil. Every three years, we use the backhoe like a giant rototiller to mix rotting wood chips into the soil.
Wood chips are interesting. As they decompose, they pull nitrogen from the soil. At a certain stage of decomposition, they turn into small sponges before releasing that nitrogen, enriching the beds again. At this point, we rototill the garden and mulch the paths again. That’s how we’ve built up those 9 inches of rich soil.
Opening the Gate to Sharing
Time, space, and a willingness to learn are the three gardening essentials around here. And let’s be honest, everything grows better with good company. That’s why we share the work, the food, and the laughs.
Adding Dori The Great
In 2023, Dori joined us in the garden. She had worked with Karl at the Arlee School, and over time she and I became friends. Dori is energetic and full of momentum. She’ll happily scatter seeds everywhere and then circle back to check what took. She’s feeding eight people, and her children, Ella, Drew, Jake, and daughter in law Paige have all joined in. Together, they bring a real sense of purpose and presence to our gardening project.
Extending the Garden
We had more mouths to feed, so we needed more garden space. We extended the garden by adding what we now call the west garden, basically doubling its size. So we started anew, building on what was really just a bit of soil on top of rock. In other posts, I’ll share more about that process later. To start we added 6–8 inches of compost, put cardboard down, and mulched the paths and planted!
Ronda The Steady
In 2025, the Arlee Community Garden chose not to plant, which had been Ronda’s gardening home. Around here, we call her Ronda the Steady. Already a friend through her work with Dori and Karl, she joined our intrepid team of gardening nuts with calm precision and a steady hand. Ronda reads the directions, plants with intention, and brings exactly the kind of balance and thoughtfulness we didn’t even know we were missing. She’s growing food for herself and her husband.
Under cover and on camera
Greenhouses and Climate Adaptation
Each season, we strive to understand and adapt to the changes brought by climate change. Most of our growing still happens in the open garden beds, but the greenhouses are an important part of our setup too. We currently have three: the north greenhouse (Walipini), the south greenhouse (cattle panel), and our newest addition in 2025, a 10×20 west greenhouse made from a repurposed Costco carport. You can find more about each of them elsewhere on the site.
Webcam and Garden Footage
We also recently installed a garden webcam, which has been a total blast. It lets us capture time-lapse footage of the season’s growth and activity. From chickens scratching in the soil to the shadows shifting across the beds, it’s been a fun way to see the garden’s rhythm in motion.
