Sweet Local Farm

Luke was brave enough to climb to the very top loft of our barn, which is home to a colony of bats. He got this great shot of our entire mandala vegetable garden:

I went back and labeled everything we’ve got growing this year for reference:

I’d love to do this every month, or at least every season!

Enjoy this site plan of our heart-shaped Mandala Garden. This is for a four year rotation plan with each color representing a different zone. Each zone is purposely spaced out so we can spread out certain varieties of plants that may be vulnerable to disease and blight.

Traditionally, mandala gardens use a series of concentric circles with keyhole paths cut into each bed for access. This method utilizes space more efficiently than garden beds laid out in a grid. Our Design primarily utilizes concentric circles, but has a few straight beds put in there for varieties that are more easily managed as rows, such as lettuces, carrots, onions and radish. And after all…it’s heart-shaped. How cute is that?

When we first moved in we drew out a plan for a huge heart shaped mandala garden. This year we cleared and cultivated about half of that space. So, with the help of our friend Michael, we set out to make the full size garden.

This space will be garden next year:

Luke and Michael measure the length of the new garden:

Look at all the beautiful wild aster behind them: