Tank, they are pretty close to 12, as that portion of the fence is 6 1/2 feet and when I stand up next to them, at 5'8" I am dwarfed. I am just stunned by them. Sure has kept the kids interested in the garden ! They can't wait to have sunflower seeds! When they are done, and the corn is done, I am going to take all the stalks and make a big teepee in the back yard for them.
This is only half of the yard. See the chain link fencing? That divides the lawn area from the garden area. The lawn has been covered with black plastic for several months to kill the so-called "lawn". I am salvaging the wood from the roof to build ten more beds, 4x8 or so, where the plastic is. Actually, I think you can see a corner of it in the picture, on the left, looking through the PVC A-frame.
The current garden is 2450 square feet, but taking away the wood pile and the compost, it is more like 2000. The black plastic yard is 25x50 of plantable space, so an additional 1250 square feet, total of 3700 by this time next year. I can't wait to have one bed per crop. Mixing them was a bad idea, especially squash. I had no idea they would spread out so much. Lesson learned.
Wife, I use FreeCycle, mostly because they kept me in food last year when things were pretty bad. I put together mixed bags of squash and cukes, mostly. I will be canning tomatoes definitely.
This part of California is highly agricultural, and growers are extremely generous with their leftovers. We have a main clearinghouse for extra produce, which is enormous. From there, it is distributed to more than 75 locations in the county, spread out through the month. There is always waste, as there is so much food donated that people dont' take it all.
Side note: I hope the three kinds of watermelons I put in are going to produce. The Charleston's are looking very good, the (something) sweets are slow, and the moon and stars are just starting to take off. My hope is that if I get some good melons by the time the roof is done and the patio is cleaned up, to invite friends and family over for a "thank you for your support" watermelon tasting.
