Day 4: The Mayne Garden by the Numbers and Lettuce (Get It)

Facts about The Mayne Garden

The full planting bed is 20 inches high, 30 feet long and 36 inches wide, constructed from pressure treated, yellow spruce wood purchased at Morse Lumber on Rt One in Wells. 

These long, narrow beds yield approximately 90 sq ft of planting area (check my math, its not my strongest subject). 

The structure is actually three separate beds, seamlessly connected at 10’ intervals.

The frames are held square by 4x4 beams (PT also) attached to the sides in each corner by 3 inch screws.

We lined the bottom of the bed with a light, porous material designed to drain water but stifle weed growth (sure).

Lawn Salon owned and operated by Cory Chase filled the beds with loam then mixed in four bags of  fertilizer.

In our "Day 1 inventory post" we reported planting over 100 individual flowers and vegetables, a sizable number for a bed this size.

In addition, the center bed has three, five foot high 4x4 posts used to support a simple (cheap) wire trellis. We planted our beans, cucumbers and peas along the trellis to make use of vertical space. We plan to replace the wire trellis next Fall with a more decorative wood structure.

The bed sits in an area that provides ample hours of unobtrusive sunlight (I can taste those wonderful, sun-drench tomatoes already).

The Mayne Garden is located along the edge of the enchanting Webhnannet River.   

Day 3: Heavy Rain

Last night around 8:30 PM a heavy rain storm moved into Wells, Maine and descended on The Mayne Garden. We are not  quite sure how long the blast lasted but, early this morning Webhannet Drive which runs close to the beach was littered with small puddles. This standing water is a  good indication that last night's rain was very heavy.

Young gardens, like The Mayne Garden, can easily be damaged by a heavy rain storm. The newly planted vegetables sit shallow in the soil making them unsteady on "their feet". A good gust of wind combined with a good drenching is the perfect formula to cause seedling damage.

Of course, this morning we were a little apprehensive when we checked The Mayne Garden. Truthfully,  we didn't know what to expect. Fortunately, the storm felled only two tomato plants which were easily restored to vertical with a push and press.


Just A Little Damage

Looking Good

Day 2: A Little Concerned

It is only the second day of our Mayne Garden adventure and Mother Nature is already giving us a little scare. Early this morning we received a text alert from seacoastonline.com warning us of the possibility of flooding in York County. The warning is the result of severe thunderstorms in the area. Hopefully, these will bypass Wells. Right from the beginning we knew flooding could be a threat to our riverside garden, but we certainly didn't expect it so earlier in the process. Unfortunately, even though we constructed our planting beds twenty inches high, the newly planted vegetables have shallow root systems  and could be easily toppled by heavy rain...but we feel confident things will be OK.

Day 1: The Mayne Garden

This afternoon we planted our vegetable garden along the Webhannet River in Wells, ME. It was a bright and sunny Memorial Day so we jumped on the opportunity to begin our gardening adventure. We took a trip to Jo Ann's Nursery and "two" to Chase Farm (forgot the tomatoes) and stocked up on seedlings. As we worked the sun was hot, but a cool breeze from the Rachel Carson Estuary kept us comfortable. After several hours we completed the first step in our "Mayne Garden".  Below is an inventory of our planting bed.      

•   9 Zucchini 
• 6 Bell Pepper
• 3 Yellow Summer Squash
• 12 Eggplant
• 5 Snap Peas
• 5 Pole Beans
• 4 Cucumbers
• 6 Butter Crunch Lettuce
• 6 California Wonder Peppers
• 18 Tomatoes
• 23 Marigolds
• 4 Rows of Carrots
• 4 Rows of Turnips
• 1 Row of Fennel