Some Things Like it Crowded

Dear friends,

I hope you've all been enjoying your long weekend over the last couple of days, I know I've enjoyed mine a bit too much. However, as I sat here on the couch I realized I hadn't posted in a while, so I have set my very sunburned fingers to the keyboard.

I have read a lot of different sites and articles warning about not planting your garden too densely. While this may be true in some cases, in the summer heat of Sacramento, some crowding can help shade certain plants. My plants get by with a little help from their friends (I couldn't resist). The best example I have of this is my herb garden, which didn't start thriving until my peter pan squash decided to take it over. Can you spot how many different herbs I have in this picture?

The answer is five. If you pull back that beautiful sqash, you would find chives, basil, thyme, marjoram and parsley all living in the cool shade the squash provides. For the longest time my herbs were remaining small and stunted under the constantly sunny, hot and windy conditions that unfortunately plague the only spot in my yard that I can have an actual garden. Here are a few pictures of the happy plants.

I should also mention that Jeff and I double dug my garden before we planted it. When you dig the dirt down about two feet and then fill it back in, you can plant things closer together because the roots can grow deeper easily. I read about the method on sunset's website somewhere. I seem to remember it's a French style of gardening. If you aren't using raised beds I definitely recommend it.