Sprung

The first photo above is of our garden on May 22, 2011, and the second picture is from today, May 20, 2012.  It's quite a different place.  For a further comparison, see the header of this blog page.  We're doing some things differently this year.


First of all, we're implementing a more effective wide-row system this year.  I actually dug out paths between the beds and used that soil to create raised beds.  This garden plot has a tendency to flood or hold water in heavy rains because it's so close to the river, and the soil is very silty.  So far, these beds and low paths in between have helped irrigate water on their own.  Last year I tried to make wide beds, but didn't implement it well enough.

In the second picture- this year's picture, dead ahead you can see a strip of green.  This is annual rye grass and clover.  I planted it between a few of the rows to suppress weeds, hold moisture, create biomass for mulching, habitat for insects and animals, and beautify the garden so it would look like one lush green mat.  There is much more planted in the garden than it looks from the picture.  Off to the far left is where most of the action is.  There's a ton of garlic over there, as well as some peas.  The potatoes have really shot up in the last 2 weeks too.  I need to find time to hill some soil on them, as it's about that time.  Previously, I've tried starting the potatoes in a trench, and filling in the trench as the plants grow.  The problem that I found with this is that our soil is much too dense for that, and leads to further compaction, which of course the growing tubers don't like.  So, this year we're going to hill them.

Radishes are coming up, as well as corn and beets.  The jerusalem artichokes are coming up very very fast.  I hope that I like them, because I think we're going to have them for years to come.  Our spinach is coming along, despite the warm weather we've been enjoying.  The weeds are starting to overgrow the onions, but I started to remedy that today, and should finish in the next day or two after work rain or shine.  I still have quite a bit to plant, but it will happen as I can get around to it.  Sunflowers are coming up, and the wheat is starting to get going finally, too.  Hopefully in the next week or so, I'll get around to describing in more detail about the specifics of starting some of these plants.

As Naomi and I were weeding this morning, I was moving around some wooden boards that I haven't made into tripods yet, and I dropped a whole stack of them making a loud CRACK sound.  Instantly, I heard a turkey gobble in response, so I pushed over another stack of boards with the same result.  I had the camera with me, so I crouched down and headed in the direction of the sound- the river bank.  I looked across the river, and there he was...

I've got an itch

The lack of typical winter weather this year has really got me anxious to get outside and play in the dirt. This time last year, there were still a few feet of snow on the ground, and I wasn't really in a rush to get going. That may have had something to do with why a lot of my timing was a little off with getting things started. We were also new to that plot of land last year.

This year, I've got PLENTY of plans for the big garden. One of the major plans has to do with putting up a few tunnels to get some stuff started outside in the sun, instead of under lights in my living room like we've been doing. It should also give some of the seedlings a leg-up in both being hardened off, and getting to a better size before getting chomped by a marauding woodchuck with a death wish. The only thing keeping me from putting up the tunnels now, is that I need to get all the materials. The ribcage-like hoops that will be the frame are coming from Naomi's sister, Jesse, who snagged them from a closing plant nursery or something like that. Then I need plastic. Probably for the first year, I'll use some cheap stuff, and see how I like using the tunnels before moving on to some greenhouse-grade stuff.

At the end of last summer, Naomi and I took a trip to Old Sturbridge Village (a living museum of 1830s colonial America) to take a look at their main garden behind the Freeman Farm house. We wanted to see what they had growing, and how they were doing it, and I really wanted to see the way they had their garden laid out. What I found was that they were using a wide-row planting layout, which I had tried to do myself last year, but with little actual planning or insight into how to do it. As you can see from the picture below, they have quite wide rows, with equally as wide paths between.

In addition, there was a border around the entire garden. The rows didn't go straight up to the fence. From the fence, there was about 8 feet of space before the rows began, but immediately abutted to the fence, were various herbs and things, which I imagine gave a protective barrier to the stuff in the middle of the garden from unwanted insects and small animals. I will try to do this myself this year, while also hoping to keep out the creeping mugwart that's always trying to make its way into my precious garden.

Our garden is approximately 4,923 square feet. Thanks to my brother Mike, we measured it this past weekend. (I told you I was anxious!) I've been trying to decide what would be the best row width, so that Naomi and I can reach into and over all of the row in order to save energy and our backs. Unfortunately, neither of us are very tall, nor do we have abnormally long arms, which means our rows might end up being rather narrow, at least when compared to the rows at Old Sturbridge Village. The other option is to make them twice as wide as we can reach, and we'd have to work the rows from both sides for weeding and such.

I've got loads more plans that I will divulge in the coming days and weeks in another post. Next time, I'll talk about some of the vegetables and varieties of things that I'd like to grow for the first time, and some past success stories that I'm excited to repeat.