Our Floating Vegetable Garden Wins Sunset Contest

In the April issue of Sunset Magazine, there was a call for readers with vegetable gardens to submit a picture to the magazine's Facebook fan page. The winners would receive a set of garden tools. I submitted a picture of my floating garden up at the cabin, and do you know what? I was one of the tree winners and my garden's picture is in Sunset's June 2011 issue. What a great honour!

How does my garden grow? With purple sage, red potatoes, and green lettuce all in a row.

The heart of my garden is my float. It was designed and built by my good friend John. Cedar logs provide the buoyancy needed to keep four 3 X 10 raised beds above the waterline. On the bottom of the beds is a heavy cloth called mill felt. It is porous, but very strong. Frequent watering is needed in the warm summer months, so John installed a solar powered water pump and hose for me.

And supervising it all (and supposedly scaring away hungry birds) is Mr. Owl. His strategic perch at the rear of the float gives him a bird's eye view of his vast domain.

Each year I try to plant something new. Last year it was acorn squash, banana peppers, cucumbers and Scarlet runner beans in barrels on the deck. This year it's garlic in a barrel and up with the potatoes in my hillside plot. What are some of your favourite things to grow? Do you think they would do well in my garden? -- Margy