- Spiral Garden - garlic, onions, peas, and corn so far
I sowed extra pre-germinated Bloody Butcher and Experimental hybrid sweet corn between 11-1 o'clock along with double row of pre-germinated Sugar Snap and Sugar Daddy snap peas. The soil temp is actually still a little low, so it will be interesting to see how these corn will compare with the main group which are starting to sprout in their containers and will be transplanted later.
Pre-germinated Green Beauty snow peas from 1-3 o'clock. There is an existing clump of Coral Pink monarda @3:00. Green Beauty is in a segment that is most shaded in the morning.
3-9 o'clock stretch is planted with garlic since last fall and long day onion mix plants earlier this spring. This area is still getting a little shaded by the house as you can see, but the angle of the sun will be higher soon.
Inner spiral is going to be the main Bloody Butcher and Experimentla Hybrid corn transplants in a circle, but I just weeded the 9-2 o'clock areas so it looks a bit rough. There's another Coral Pink Monarda clump and Seascape strawberries at 2 o'clock.
The inner spiral ends with last clump of Coral Pink monarda, Seascape strawberries and anise hyssop. I'm building a compost pile in the central "well/path" and I'm planting my winter squash mix on top and perimeter of the compost pile. I haven't quite decided which varieties, but will include Thai Kang Kob (C. moschata), Cushaw White Jonathan (C. mixta) and some others. (mixta/angeosperma Japanese Pie) (moschata Tronboncino, Seminole, Kikuza) (maxima Uncle David's Dessert, Red Kuri, Sweet Meat)
Beans will go in after the peas.
Inner spiral path that flooded with rain last summer is going to get raised with some aged crumbly branches and stump pieces to form a sort of a hugelkultur, which if everything works out, the squash will just ramble over and I will rearrange the vines to leave room to walk.. I'm expecting the squash to want to crawl out to the outer spiral and eventually take over where the onions and garlic are planted.
....so, I'll keep updating this, and we can all see how much of "The Grand Scheme" will be successful.
Also, when I built the NKG, I was equally inspired by the mandala garden design and the permaculture concept of increasing "edges" to maximize space -- so the idea was to be able to walk around and have access from the INSIDE EDGE of the bed as well as the OUTSIDE EDGE.
This Smith & Hawken composter was one of the early designs built to the standard minimum compost pile size specs rather than the newer reduced size (and therefore inefficient thermal mass) design plastic bins. So it really feels like it's taking up a good chunk of space. 
). I'll layer that with wind blown pile of leaves from along the back fence, and by the time I finish cleaning the patio of all debris and weeds, adding some grass clippings and kitchen scraps along the way, the bin should be filled and ready to cook. 
lit over my head 
