Starting the Vegetable Garden!

Well, all of the wood for the raised beds was delivered at 6:20 a.m. in the rain, so I hurried up and covered it. First though, the area for the vegetable garden needs to be prepared.

All I have to say is cutting sod is a total pain in the back, neck, arms, legs. We've had 3.3 inches of rain this April, so it was on the heavy side. I've made the mistake of putting raised beds over grass, and unless you pull up the sod and turn it over, the grass will inevitably grow up even through 12 inches of soil. Even though it is backbreaking work, it's worth it to get rid of the sod, throw it in the compost and start with a relatively clean slate.

Starting the Vegetable Garden Part II

Just some of the perennials planted in the front bed

Transplanting Seedlings

Now that the second set of leaves has formed, it's time to place the seedlings into a larger pot. The second set of leaves lets you know that the root systems are vigorous enough to support more growth, which means they will soon be outgrowing their tiny starter homes! I remove mine from the germination plots and put them into their paper pots. Now I can turn off the germination mats and let them grow under their lights but in a little cooler setting. As the days warm later on, it will be time to harden them off before they go out into the garden.

Some people have asked what to do to prevent the 'damping off' disease that so often affects seedlings. Damping off disease is a fungal disease that can affect new seedlings causing them to 'tip over' and die. At least that's what it looks like they do, just lay down and die!!! First of all, you need to start with a sterile seed starting mix. I know some gardeners who put some sand around the base of the seedlings which they say inhibits the fungal growth in the soil around the base of the plant. I put a small fan in the room near the grow lights and seedling trays and turn it on low. The particular room where I have my seedlings doesn't have good air circulation and this has helped tremendously. Although you don't want your seedlings to dry out, don't keep them sopping wet. Adding the fan also helps strengthen the stems of the seedlings by swaying them to and fro. After all, if they were started outside that's what they'd be doing, and the increased air circulation helps prevent any fungal growth.

Since we've been inundated with rain, we can't start building the garden beds until next week. The area we were going to plant is still just too wet. We're due to get some decent sunny days starting on the weekend, so hopefully it will be dry enough to dig in the dirt!

Making Paper Pots for Transplants

This is an inexpensive way to recycle old newpapers. The great thing about these little paper pots is that when it's time to plant, you pluck the whole thing in the ground and it decomposes naturally into the soil. People often ask if there are toxins in the newspapers that will adversely affect the soil or the plant in any way. There have been studies done on this very subject because so many people use newspapers as weed barriers underneath mulch etc. Some newspaper companies use a soy based ink in printing and the binder for the pulp. From everything that I've read, there are no harmful toxins released that would adversely affect the plant or the consumer of the plant. Just the fact that it breaks down and composts into the soil makes recycling those newspapers worthwhile. Plus they're dirt cheap! Always a plus in my book.

Putting in the Perennial Flower Bed

I had to get the front perennial beds in before it rains. This spot has been bare for quite awhile, other than the nasty weeds that were deposited by wind and birds. The front bed is 4 feet by 25 feet. After tilling it all up I added peat moss and manure and tilled it again. The end soil was light and well blended. After digging the holes for each little plant, I add Scott's garden soil that has delayed release plant food in it into each hole, and then added the plant. Although after planting, there seems to be a lot of bare space, I'm going to put in a bunch of annuals to fill in the gaps this year. But by next year, these perennials will really fill in nicely and adding annuals won't really be necessary. I planted about 60 perennials...which included phlox, daisies, coreopsis, echinacea, asters, rudbeckia, liatris, chrysanthemum, sedum, scabiosa, campanula, Gaillardia, veronica and a ton more. The types of plants have a cottage garden look to them which I love. Since we were due to have rain for the next 2 1/2 days, we got the beds prepared and amended and planted before the rain started. Even though it's only 44 degrees this morning, perennials can handle a bit of a chill.

Seedlings and New Gardens...

The Blue Hubbard squash was huge coming up out of the soil, but the seed was larger than my thumbnail. I was surprised it germinated and grew so quickly considering the thickness and size of the seed. The Blue Hubbard squash is a large, thick skinned grey/blue colored squash with an orange center that stores for long periods of time. I've used it in place of pumpkin in recipes once it's baked and it's delicious. Once the second set of leaves forms we will be transplanting the seedlings into slightly bigger pots.

Since I'm in an area with poor soil, the vegetable garden is done in wide, elevated beds. There's a wonderful gardening book out there called "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" by Ed C. Smith. His technique for raised beds is using the anagram W.O.R.D. Which stands for Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds and Deep soil. I particularly like this type of bed because the drainage is good and the beds are more manageable as far as weeding, watering, ammendment amounts etc. This spring we are expanding the gardens and adding 14 beds to the side yard. Once the crew is assembled (meaning my older children) and their days off are arranged, we will be posting photos of how to go about putting in new beds. Plus, some perennial and annual flower beds are also going to be prepared and planted with photos of their progress. There's a lot of work to be done, but there's just nothing better than diggin' in the dirt!

Pushing Up Toward the Light

Seedlings Appear April 4th