Expanding the Garden

I started using black plastic mulch last year in my garden. It is useful for covering large areas of ground and can be used to smother grass in order to prepare an area for cultivation.  Last year I used black plastic to start my pumpkin patch and prevent weeks from growing in between the plants. 

I will be doubling or tripling the size of my pumpkin bed this year.

This year I got a head start with putting down the black plastic. I already used a new 4' x 50' section of plastic, so that means my vegetable garden will be increased by 200 square feet. I am also reusing the black plastic from my pumpkin/gourd bed last year in order to double (or possibly triple) its size this year, which will add another 260 square feet to that bed. 

This bed, which held pattypan squash last year, will be at least doubled in size this year.

Last season I had a total of 706 total garden square footage in cultivation. If I add up the additions to my main vegetable garden and my pumpkin bed for this coming season, my square footage this year will be about 1,170! That will also increase the total percentage of my yard that is in cultivation from 0.023% to 0.036%. I'm slowly making progress on converting the lawn to "farm", but I sure would love to have a lot less grass to mow!