In permaculture we teach about zoning within the garden. Some foods can be plucked and used daily. These include tea and cooking herbs, lettuces, watercress, kale and tom thumb tomatoes. Other plants are picked when they are ripe or ready such as cabbages, onions, taro, beans, peas and many more. These plants can be visited less regularly so they can be planted further away from the kitchen door. You can pop over to visit them on Saturdays, see how they are going, and see if they need attention (thining out, weeding, watering or feeding with worm farm juices.)
This garden was created on last Saturday. This area was once a chicken run, then a zone 3 area (for potatos, pumpkins, corn, jerusalem artichokes etc. Then it was rested and compost was laid there. The chickens were allowed to forage about in there.
Last Saturday the compost bay was reclaimed by
1. fencing the area with wire and bamboo stakes and scrap metal pieces to tie the fencing down.
2. Old bricks, timbers and prunings were used to define the lower edges. The compost was then shaped into garden beds that would retain water and slowly allow it to travel through the beds. A Keyhole entry was made in the broader bed to allow access without stepping on the bed. Stepping on a garden bed will compact the soil and reduce productivity and ability to hold moisture. More prunings and old timber was placed on the upper edges, an old toy bin lid was inverted to create the pond (which now houses water celery and water loving taro).
3. Vegetable seedlings and perennial herbs were planted, seeds will be added later.
4. Bird scarers will be hung from the forked branch in the middle which is supported by the base of an old desk chair.