mulching

What to do...when the rains tease so sweetly? Mulching seems appropriate. Scott's garden nears its completed phase, and to prevent all those newly added amendments from leaching out of the freshly worked soil, a layer of straw is placed around transplants on all bare earth. As of right now, the starts are just that, starting life, and oh so small and fragile. Until more reliable weather arrives they will put on only moderate growth. Before a canopy of growing green leaves and (the inevitable) weeds do their part to cover the earth, a mulch (leaves, straw, compost, etc.) helps protect from minerals leaching and compaction brought on by falling rain. Unsightly, probably. Utilitarian, most definitely.

Once the garden is more established the mulch can be removed and composted, or left on to reduce evaporation of the soil water. It should be kept in mind, however, that certain garden pests might find a moist bed of mulch the most inviting of homes and perfect for executing late-night binges on your veggies. Tough call.

amendments

To cultivate the garden bed a few inches deeper, a second tilling was undertaken. In all the depth of cultivation is about 6-7." A yard of compost and a yard of topsoil are added to increase organic matter and to ameliorate the clay content of the soil (gypsum also helps with this). Next the amendments are added. These include granulated limestone, phosphate, greensand and gypsum, all broadcast on the surface of the bed and then tilled into the first few inches of the soil. All that remains to do is refine the design drawn out on paper and hope for another dry day to plant.

In the course of tilling, numerous feeder roots from the nearby pine trees were found wending their way only a few inches beneath the surface of the soil. Trees, being advantageous organisms, seek out the most easily found nutrients. As many roots as were found were removed, but always to keep in mind is the fact that our vegetables will be competing with the nearby trees for nutrients as well as light (at certain times of day). We'll try to keep this in mind while choosing where to plant certain varieties more tolerant of shade, and fertilize (with compost) throughout the season based on observations of how the plants are growing and competing.

to till or not to till

Till, and never look back. At least when starting a new garden space. The sod has been removed, and taking advantage of the mild weather and a friend's gracious loan of his roto-tiller, the new growing space is cultivated. To my surprise and delight, the soil seems much more workable than anticipated, i.e. not as laden with heavy clay. We'll still take some steps to loosen the soil a bit by adding some gypsum and topsoil. Weather permitting, tomorrow will see the incorporation of a yard of compost, the mineral amendments and about a yard of topsoil to begin the process of building the soil. When starting out, cultivation seems unavoidable, but the inclusion of simultaneously sown cover crops and regular (yearly) additions of kitchen-scrap compost and green manures, we embark on an experiment in soil building that should reduce the amount of tilling or cultivation required in subsequent seasons. Here goes everything.

ready to plant

As the sun rose surely this morning I steeled myself to prepping the garden space for my first client. Last year's garden, a modest 4' x 8' plot, would grow to become 10' x 10' after a couple of hours well spent slicing and scraping the moss-laden sod. While soil tests are good and fine for agricultural endeavors, on the home scale they aren't particularly pragmatic. Better to observe the vegetation (moss and dandelions) and consider the typical soil profile of our climate (low pH), amend accordingly, and let the veggies live a life of choice.

To begin, a 1/2" layer of compost is added to the lightly cultivated soil, which is spaded to a depth of about 6." Then a cocktail of four organic mineral amendments are added to assist in bringing the soil into a balance for proper vegetable nutrition: greensand, limestone, phosphate, and gypsum. Using the garden weasel the amendments are mixed within the top 2-3." The bed is now ready to fill with transplants.

sod removal...

...is back-breaking, laborious, evil work. But oh so necessary. Waging war on the front lawn filled most of the morning and afternoon today. Warm spring sunshine helps. First the cardboard is removed, then the sod is sliced into manageable sections measuring approximately 2' x 3' using an edging tool. Next a flat shovel is utilized to begin scraping the sod sections and accompanying roots and as little soil as is possible. No easy task, but excess soil can be sifted from the sod sections after its removal. If the sod is kept all in one piece it can (more) easily be rolled as it's being scraped up. The strips are inverted and laid from whence they came so that the majority of the soil can be broken free from the grass roots before returning it to the future vegetable bed. For this task we use a delightfully named tool called a "garden weasel," which is essentially a hand-powered roto-tiller. The next steps are to determine where the sod will be composted and to amend the soil with copious amounts of compost and minerals including limestone, gypsum, greensand, and phosphate. Seeding and transplanting to follow shortly!

propagations

Aside from offering deliverance from the constant stream of traffic and take-off/landing noise permeating my home town, the surrounding greenbelts bestow treasures beyond the visceral. An opportunity to propagate native plants for their eventual inclusion in an edible landscape presents itself. With a simple pair of pruning shears and a pocketful of patience the urban gardener conjures new life.

Cuttings from native edibles (gooseberry, blackcap raspberry, Indian plum, elderberry, salmonberry) are easily made. A section of last season's (new) growth is snipped just above a node (where the new leaves will emerge) and just below a node, leaving on average 3 or 4 nodes on the entire cutting. Most range from 4-6" in length. The cuttings are expediently readied to promote successful rooting: first they are dipped in a powdered rooting hormone, then buried approximately 2/3 of the way in a moist mixture of 1 part peat moss to 1 part perlite. The cuttings are placed in the greenhouse in dappled light (in this case under the planting bench) and moisture is maintained to facilitate rooting. Hopefully within 2 weeks most of the cuttings will show signs of new life in the form of emerging leaves and new roots. These gooseberry cuttings seem pleased with their new situation so far. The cuttings that survive will eventually be potted individually and more than likely will be ready to plant in the ground by next spring.

spring fever

This weekend's respite from drowning rains was a welcome one. And with the equinox quickly approaching (tomorrow), it's about time. Thanks Mother Nature! The season pokes through winter's moldy duff, emerging in budding leaves and tender new growth. Plans for one project are well under way, and another friend's parents have given me permission to plant seeds and starts in their backyard. No shortage of soil work to keep this gardener focused and busy. A quick shot of the next project: a series of 5 raised beds each measuring approximately 3' x 10.' The soil is rich and highly workable at first glance, and should provide ample opportunity to experiment with layout and design. Plans to hatch...

seedling steps

The first set of seedlings are moving up in the world. Time to transplant into a more coherent and spacious intermediary arrangement, the last before they brave the cool spring weather. Seeded flats are scooped out by hand and separated carefully (as little root disturbance as possible behooves the hungry gardener). Spacing is approximate; about 2 inches for each plant will provide ample room until they're planted in the garden. In a 10"x 20" flat that is 50 seedlings. More than your typical urban garden can accommodate, but there's always the opportunity to spread the love to neighbors or else rouge plants not showing vigor. The planting media for the transplants is mostly compost, with some peat and perlite and some added granulated organic fertilizer to induce rapid growth. These coles and greens are hardening off in the greenhouse as they prepare for their next step on the journey. As soon as it stops raining long enough to do a little digging...

art of pruning

A delicate balance of youthful expression and established maturity a well-pruned fruit tree makes. To sharpen my teeth on recent lessons in pruning I got to work on the assorted fruit trees planted around the yard. The trick, as I was taught, is to maintain a productive vegetative cycle while still allowing the tree to have fruiting potential. This means managing the older growth as well as suppressing some of the newer growth, as fruit arises from growth older than one year. As a general rule, 10% of the tree is removed in the pruning process. The tree is also shaped to facilitate ease of harvest and so that it does not become too large to maintain. An art, truly, and one not easily understood even under the tutelage of an experienced orchardist. "When in doubt, cut it out" as Bob would tell us. Observe the trees' growth behavior in the coming season and adjust your future pruning endeavors to suit the habit of the tree.

garden prep

Rains continue to soak the saturated ground. Field (lawn) capacity was reached days ago but still the skies offer no mercy to anxious gardeners. Wait is all I can do, and to busy myself with other projects and plans.

To prepare for the additional garden space that will occupy the front yard, cardboard salvaged from area grocers is laid flat on the existing sod and secured with bricks. A shambled patchwork of urban refuse it appears to passersby, but if it speeds the death of the grass beneath and facilitates easier cultivation when (if) the rains ever subside, it'll be worth the eyesore. Meanwhile seeds continue to sprout and ready themselves for life outside in the big, wet world.

doors open...

...and all we have to do is walk through them. A friend's father has been gracious enough to employ me to install a gardening space in the backyard of his suburban home. The plan as it stands is to create an 8'x8' vegetable patch, plant rhubarb, various adapted berry bushes and a perennial herb garden. To the drawing board and praying rains subside long enough to allow the ground to be workable.

The remnants from last years' garden (1st attempt), a 4'x8' plot that will double in size (and productivity, we will hope). A moss-filled lawn indicates acidic soil (typical Northwest conditions), which will be amended with limestone, gypsum, green sand, phosphate and compost to boost fertility and give the veggies a better shot at expressing their full genetic (and flavor!) potential.

seed flats sown

Spring looms through cold rains but daylight savings is the home gardener's best friend. To busy myself and make it through these winnowing winter days, planting seeds proves a welcome respite. Instead of using 2.5" pots with a few seeds in each (last year's method), I'm testing a new and hopefully more efficient way of cranking out some early spring starts.

The flats (11" by 20") are filled to just below the top edge with a self-assembled mix consisting of 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite, and 2 parts compost. A pinch of seeds is broadcast over the surface of the media and additional mixture is sprinkled over the flat to ensure the seeds are covered. The flat is kept moist (propagation domes work best) and warm. Germination should follow in a few short days.

In choosing what to plant first, cold-hardiness wins the selection game, and the seedlings sprouted so far include cabbages, chards, kales, mustards, mache and other various greens. In spite of the seasons' reticence to relent on this mucky cold wetness, it's also time to start thinking of tender varieties to begin indoors; i.e. tomatoes and the rest of the solanums. Yum.