I spent the first glorious warm day of March planting out seeds for the first of the spring garden crops. Every season has its rite-of-passage and nothing signals the birth of spring for this gardener like plunking in the faded pearls of pea seeds. A sweet return to dark crumbly soil and fresh spring air [...]]]>

I spent the first glorious warm day of March planting out seeds for the first of the spring garden crops. Every season has its rite-of-passage and nothing signals the birth of spring for this gardener like plunking in the faded pearls of pea seeds. A sweet return to dark crumbly soil and fresh spring air filling my lungs as I squat beside the opened trench with fingers itching to plant is…bliss!

The preparation for sowing peas is simple and if you’ve not used a soil inoculant before the following may be helpful. Bean and pea inoculant is defined as “rhizobacteria that live within specialized nodules on the roots of legumes where they process atmospheric nitrogen into a form readily used by plants.”  Simply put, inoculant is a beneficial bacteria that uses nitrogen from the air to benefit plants and soil via the roots of beans and peas. In addition to the benefit of improved soil, the yields of crops treated with the inoculant are also increased. Inoculant is available in garden shops near the seed displays.

To prepare peas for planting:

Place the pea seeds in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let soak for 30 min.

Drain off the water and add 1/8 tsp. of inoculant for every two packets of seeds. There are four packets of seeds in the picture.

Using an old (or disposable) spoon etc., stir the inoculant to coat each pea seed. That’s all there is to it! Now the seeds are ready for planting.

Outside, open a trench in the soil about 16″ wide and 3″ deep. Wearing gloves, scatter the seeds across the bottom of the furrow and cover with soil. Tamp down the soil lightly and cover with bits of brush to prevent heavy spring rains from washing the seeds away and  to keep squirrels and other critters from digging them up. No fertilizers are necessary for growing peas and use of them may promote green growth at the expense of blossoms.

Inoculant is used the same way to treat bean and lupine seeds. Inoculant should be used up the year it is purchased as it can’t be stored long term. Once used in a bed, the inoculant’s bacteria will continue to multiply making repeat applications unnecessary. Treat only beans and peas that are planted in new beds or areas of the garden the following season. Easy to grow and sweet like sugar…go on give peas a chance!

~Theodore Roosevelt

With the “official” first day of spring merely eleven (!) days off,  it’s a good time to plan monthly garden chores. It’s helpful to keep track of progress and record [...]]]>

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

~Theodore Roosevelt

With the “official” first day of spring merely eleven (!) days off,  it’s a good time to plan monthly garden chores. It’s helpful to keep track of progress and record any notes in a journal throughout each month of the growing season. (As always, please keep in mind your USDA zone, your chores may be accomplished earlier or later than my zone 5b/6a garden.)

March

• Indoors: Now is the time to sow seeds indoors for peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, artichokes, lettuces and Asian greens. Remember to use a sterile starter mix to promote healthy first roots. If you have seedlings started, remember to bottom water with diluted organic fertilizer when the first true leaves appear and thin out crowded plants by snipping extras off at the soil line with a small pair of scissors. Transplant any seedlings with roots extending outside the pot.

• Seeds outdoors: Seeds for spinach, escarole, peas, fava beans, turnips, dill, fennel, parsley, chervil, mache and swiss chard and sets of potatoes, onions, leeks and shallots can be planted in prepared garden beds from mid-month on.
• Plants outdoors: Prune berry brambles and fruit bushes as well as grapevines and ornamentals. Cut back flower stalks and rake out dry debris from beds. Remove thick, matted wet leaves from beds by hand. Fertilize spring bulbs lightly with bone meal worked into the beds.
• Tools: Inspect all garden tools. Clean, sharpen and repair/replace any that require it. You’ll want to have a reliable hoe, rake, spade, pruners and hand trowel for working in the garden. There are many other wonderful tools and gadgets available, these are the necessities.
• Soil: Spring is the time to enrich the garden with compost and manure if it wasn’t done the fall before. Four inches of well-rotted manure spread on top of the garden and turned under will benefit your plants throughout the growing season.

A  note about compost: Herbicide residues have been detected in commercial composts and manures. When spread into a garden bed the plants grown remain stunted and may even die. The herbicide can persist in the soil for several years, thus affecting crops for many seasons. There is an article available from Mother Earth News here with more information. It’s always important to know the source of anything you add to your soil. Local farms are often a reliable option for composted manures instead of buying commercially. Check your local Craigslist and Freecycle listings.

just within the iron fence, the radiant dandelion, shining in the grass, like a spark dropped from the sun.”

~Henry Ward Beecher

Every gardener has given thought at [...]]]>

“It gives one a sudden start in going down a barren, stony street, to see upon a narrow strip of grass,

just within the iron fence, the radiant dandelion, shining in the grass, like a spark dropped from the sun.”

~Henry Ward Beecher

Every gardener has given thought at one time or another to which flower best represents him/her in the garden. A bloom that exemplifies our very nature and personality. Perhaps the classic rose, or towering delphinium, dainty ruffled poppies or fragrant four o’ clocks. So many varieties…vibrant, subtle, showy and demure and yet I say, “A dandelion for me!”

Yes, a dandelion. Roses are classic beauties, so true, but they can be a bit fussy and prefer a bit of coddling now and then. Poppies are sweetly feminine and delicate yet the blooms never last as long as I’d like. Four o’clocks are easy, colorful and fragrant indeed! They’re short lived, though, and to be an annual one must be committed to a cycle of brand new beginnings. As one who struggles with small changes, that’s not much my style. A dandelion though…

I admire a root that easily taps into soil and drives down deep to sub-layers establishing a stronghold. Though often plucked, trampled and mowed down this lowly “weed” returns unscathed and unoffended to set it’s sights on higher things. Natural tenacity and perseverance! Left alone a dandelion grows, reaching respectable height and setting forth a sunny bloom that mimics the rays of the sun. It basks only a short while before setting about the business of scattering seeds that will touch every part of the nearby garden and beyond. A life fulfilled!

As spring approaches and I set about preparing the garden beds I will undoubtedly come across many dandelions. Truthfully, I will pluck out each one from it’s much-needed space, save the greens and compost the tops. Even in it’s demise this humble plant will serve to nourish our family and new gardens to come. Nothing lowly about that. Oh to be a dandelion!

seed-eating sparrows as characteristic of meadows,

the ecosystems exist in their fullest sense underground.

What we see aboveground is only the outer margin of an

ecosystem that explodes in intricacy and life below.”

“While it is relatively easy to recognize the perennial grasses and

seed-eating sparrows as characteristic of meadows,

the ecosystems exist in their fullest sense underground.

What we see aboveground is only the outer margin of an

ecosystem that explodes in intricacy and life below.”

~Amy Seidl

The days are starting earlier and brighter and temperatures are slowly creeping upward. Spring is nearing and it’s time to think about the first of the garden chores. Just as the first chore in the morning for many is making the bed, so it goes in the garden as well.

Raised beds for gardening have several advantages. They warm earlier in spring, they’re easier to maintain, the soil can easily be tailored to specific plants’ needs and most importantly the soil stays friable (soft and crumbly) for growing roots that greatly dislike the compacted paths of  level gardens. Many gardeners construct raised beds with wood or composite frames, but it isn’t necessary. To have a raised bed ready for seed sowing and spring seedlings, start two to three weeks before your planting out date (Last frost dates here).

In three easy steps:

• Size: Determine the size of the bed(s). An ideal size is 3′-4′ wide and any length you prefer. Use a spade to loosen existing sod and flip it grassy side down on top of the soil underneath.
• Depth: The deeper the soil the more room for plant roots to grow. An ideal depth is 12″-18″ which is easily reached after building the soil for a few seasons. For a new spring bed, aim for no less than 9″. To build the layers, simply pile equal amounts of compost, peat moss, rotted manure and any topsoil from the grass on top of the overturned sod to the recommended depth. Taper the sides of the bed and level the top. Mulching will keep the soil from eroding on the top and sides.
• Fertilizer and pH: Plants need three major nutrients, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) for growth. Additions of organic fertilizers like bone and blood meals, fish emulsion and wood ash provide needed nutrition during active growth. pH refers to the acidity of the soil and affects how well plant roots can absorb the nutrients. A simple test available in garden stores will give you a general reading. Acid soils have a pH of 6.9 and lower, alkaline 7.1 and higher. Most vegetables grow best in the 6.0 to 7.0 range.

Yes, it’s just that easy! Throughout the season, additions of organic mulches and fertilizers will continue to build the soil. At the end of the season a final application of compost and manure will prepare the bed for the following spring. Before too long, making the bed will be just as much a habit outdoors as in…but more fun!

Pepper plants in a raised bed before mulching.

]]> http://www.getinthegarden.com/2010/03/making-the-bed/feed/ 8 http://www.getinthegarden.com/2010/03/winter-interest-wednesday-hints-of-spring/ http://www.getinthegarden.com/2010/03/winter-interest-wednesday-hints-of-spring/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:00:58 +0000 Lisa Gustavson http://www.getinthegarden.com/?p=3000

~Steve Martin

The skies are blue and the sun is shining and everything feels like spring! Except, of course, the snow…but it’s melting under those hot rays and the steady drip, drip of icicles tells me it won’t be long now. Spring has been [...]]]>

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.

~Steve Martin

The skies are blue and the sun is shining and everything feels like spring! Except, of course, the snow…but it’s melting under those hot rays and the steady drip, drip of icicles tells me it won’t be long now. Spring has been kind enough to hint at an appearance and it’s filled me with a whole new longing to get digging!

After turning up more plastic cups and cardboard tubes for planting, I set about sowing a few seeds sent to me by Twitter friends. As much as I love the task of tucking seeds into the soil, it’s just more enjoyable with the sun shining through the window on my face as I work. A  foreshadowing of the wonderful season to come! Before too long I’ll be outside plunking in peas and fava beans and preparing the barrels for seed potatoes. The spring air will be heavy with the scent of the waking soil and I’ll be wishing I’d spent some time getting into shape before picking up the hoe.

For now though I’ll happily sow indoors. Planting seeds of friendship and dreaming of bird song, bumblebees and apple blossoms. I know too well that in this changing month of March we may well flirt with one (or more!) snowy days, but spring is on the way. I’m holding fast! It won’t be long now and until then I’ll enjoy sowing indoors and be thankful for sunny daze I have.

Sowing seeds according to the phases of the moon is often thought of as a bit of garden folklore that’s practiced by a few and discarded as irrelevant by many. Scientists have studied the effects of the moon’s force on [...]]]>

“Don’t tell me the sky is the limit, there are footprints on the moon!”

Sowing seeds according to the phases of the moon is often thought of as a bit of garden folklore that’s practiced by a few and discarded as irrelevant by many. Scientists have studied the effects of the moon’s force on the Earth’s groundwater in relationship to sowing seeds, however, and the research has suggested that seeds will absorb water and germinate more quickly when sown coinciding with the moon’s cycles.

The moon completes one full cycle every 29 days. Each lunar month is divided into four phases based on how the moon appears to us from Earth. The first phase begins with a new moon and it is during the first two phases that the moon is waxing (growing). During this time the Earth’s water tables respond the greatest to the moon’s force. Just as the ocean tides are highest during the moon’s first two quarters,  the water in your garden’s soil is also believed to be pulled to the surface and readily available for the seeds you have sown. As the moon wanes (gets smaller) the water in the soil returns to the depths and it’s then that chores such as turning the soil over are recommended. No need to break your back with heavy soil when the moon is on the wane!

According to the calendar February 28 (Sunday) is a full moon. If you’d like to experiment a bit, here are a few garden chores to accomplish during the first two phases while water is readily available in the soil:

• Sow seeds for crops that grow above the ground: leafy vegetables, cole crops, grains, peppers, tomatoes etc.
• Plant new trees
• Re-pot houseplants
• Fertilize

As the moon begins to wane in the third and fourth phases and waters recede suggested chores include:

• Planting root crops
• Pruning
• Weeding

Of course this is a very brief look at using the moon as a garden guide. If you’re interested in testing the validity of planting according to  moon  do some research (Ed Hume is a suggested authority on the subject), choose a few select crops to test growing with and without the lunar calendar and keep notes in your garden journal. Be sure to let us know what you find out!

somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.

Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be

and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst [...]]]>

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside,

somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.

Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be

and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.

Anne Frank

I love the days the world deems “unproductive.” Yesterday, I accomplished little in the way of work but enjoyed every minute of planting seeds with our sick son and a long three hour conversation with an elderly neighbor that dropped by to use our phone. I had time to sit back and listen, to reflect on someone else’s thoughts and ideas. It was a blessed break from my daily hectic pace and I learned a few things!

Yesterday reminded me that opportunities arise in the most ordinary circumstances. Our neighbor’s phone wasn’t working, he only stopped by for a minute to borrow ours to call the phone company. After seeing flashes of red from the cardinals flitting to the feeder, and seeing rabbit prints outside the patio door he wanted a closer look. We watched out the window as the birds appeared and disappeared and the squirrels went through Olympic-worthy routines to reach the sunflower seeds from the feeder. I told him of throwing open the door for a bit of fresh air only to discover a skunk had recently passed through. He chuckled. Then he asked what other animals visited our yard. Upon hearing of deer, woodchucks, ducks, herons, rabbits, raccoons and a fox he was wide-eyed and curious. Before leaving he decided to plant a garden where their old pool is being taken down in thspring.

Yesterday I was reminded that talking and teaching are wonderful ways to introduce people to gardening and the importance of caring for the fragile eco-system we live in, but when they can see it for themselves it sparks more than interest…it sparks action. I was also reminded that I have very, very sweet neighbors that I’m happy to call friends.

snow dappled;

each flake takes hand

with its brother

until spring returns and sweeps them away.

~G.L.

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The time is winter as it nears its end and objects remain

snow dappled;

each flake takes hand

with its brother

until spring returns and sweeps them away.

~G.L.