by Amy Swanson
Weather: Very pleasant–Sunny and in the 40s
We finally had the opportunity to do some work at the Garden. The first 2 attempts were stymied by the weather. Last year’s milder weather allowed us to start a full 10 days earlier. Despite this space being covered with snow earlier in the week, the soil today was only moderately damp. At the end of the morning, I could easily brush the dirt off my knees and out of my boot treads. That’s the kind of soil it is…shock full of organic material so drainage is excellent.
Today was all about cleaning out the debris of weather and prepping. That meant tasks such as:
– Clearing out the dried old stalks remaining in asparagus, strawberry and kale beds.
– Emptying out the first compost bin and spreading it on the garden
– Cleaning out the barn of all baskets, buckets and implements and giving the place a good sweep
– Hauling out all the tools and implements to the fence where they could be wiped down and some given a light rub with mineral oil.
– Minor repair work to the little garden’s fence
– Admiring the garlic that was planted last fall and already poking through.
Next steps? Once Carla’s order of composted manure gets delivered (hopefully for Tuesday), that will be spread, wheelbarrow at a time, over the garden and then rototillered in. And as soon as possible peas and salad greens get planted.
Marty and Carolyn enjoy catching up in the warm sun while cleaning out the strawberry bed.
The first compost bin has been left alone long enough. It got emptied into the wheelbarrow and spread in the garden.
Old straw and sawdust are other types of organic material spread in the garden. This teen has been experimenting on how to grow vegetables over the winter via hydroponic agriculture. His next project will be growing vegetables in a worm compost tower. He has promised to return later to update us on his progress.
Lauren cleaned all the tools. First a wipe down with a wet rag and then a light rub with mineral oil.
Mark makes some minor repairs to the small garden’s fence.