DIY Network

Organic Gardening, Family-Style: Truett Profile Meet Chuck and Kim Truett and find out the gardening challenge plan. From "Garden Sense" episode DGAR-406

The Truetts — Chuck and Kim and their two kids, Zack and Erica — love fruit and vegetable gardening. They like to get something out of their landscaping besides foliage, so they eat everything they grow. They've asked DIY Garden Sense to help them create an organic garden that's heavy on fruit trees and companion plants that work well with them. They also would like beautiful flowers and ground plants such as grapes mixed into the landscape.

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Walter Reeves with the Truett family.

Project Details

The key to organic gardening is proper soil preparation. We took the time to do that before putting anything in the ground.

We mixed fruit-producing plants with flowers to control pests and also brighten up the landscape.

The yard gets full sun, which allowed us to plant some interesting fruit-producing plants.

First, we created a new curving bed (figure A) with plenty of space for new plantings up against the fence (figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

We then added an espaliered apple tree that will be trained to grow on a trellis as it produces apples. We added lots of veggies like okra, and in the corner we planted some shrubbery like an Emerald Green Arborvitae.

All around the yard we mixed in colorful flowers, including some the kids can actually eat. We've also chosen Muhly Grass to add even more texture to the landscape.

Our big project was constructing a framework for grapes that will grow tall and sweet.

Backyard: before

Backyard: after

Dollars and Sense
We used 20 plants in Hardiness Zone 7 and spent $1,091.

• The most expensive plant was the espaliered apple tree at $300.
  
• We spent some extra money hiring a crew to come in a day earlier and prepare the beds. There was a lot of turf to dig up in the very big backyard.
  
• We also spent a lot of time amending the soil. We used more than 30 bags of organic soil conditioner to get the landscape off to a good start.

Plant prices may vary by zone.

Sensible Tools
These are the tools and garden supplies used on our project by Walter and the DIY team and also given to the homeowners to help care for their new landscape:

• Tools provided by Corona Clipper
  (www.coronaclipper.com)
  
• Gloves provided by Atlas Gloves
  
• Soil provided by Fafard
  (www.fafard.com)
  
• Scotts Bone Meal
  (www.scotts.com)
  
• Corona Clipper Shovel
  (www.coronaclipper.com)
  
• Gilmour Sprinkler
  (www.gilmour.com)
  
• Gilmour Hose Nozzle
  (www.gilmour.com)
  
• Gilmour Watering Timer
  (www.gilmour.com)
  
• Rain Bird Drip Kit
  (www.rainbird.com)
  
• Cobra Head Weeder
  (www.cobrahead.com)
  
• Miracle Gro Plant Food
  (www.miraclegro.com)
  
• Fiskars Bypass Lopper
  (www.fiskars.com)
  
• Fiskars Hedge Shears
  (www.fiskars.com)

Gardening by Zip Code If you're looking to start a gardening projectbut don't know your gardening zone—visit the National Gardening Associations's USDA Hardiness Zone Finder. Enter your Zip Code to identify the proper zone.