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.

The Patient Gardener

According to the forecasts I've been reading lately, we're finally going to get some rain in Seattle. Almost seems strange... And not just a sprinkling, but steady, heavy rainfall this afternoon through tomorrow. Hopefully it will recharge the water table enough that I can avoid watering the garden for the next little bit.

In my gardening endeavors, I have learned many things, and have too many more yet to learn. Aside from all the technical information and facts though, the most important thing I have learned thus far has been patience. Hard to believe that I planted tomato seeds indoors over 5 months ago, and am only now beginning to reap the reward. Indeed I have even begun to display the slightest bit of impatience at how long the fruits have remained green. Only a very few of them have ripened. Corralling one's desires is no easy task.

A small handful of tomatoes and an ancho pepper picked this morning

I have realized that gardening, like life itself, is more about the processes and (seemingly) endless toiling rather than the final result. If you cannot find enjoyment in these things along the way, you will likely be disappointed when winter bears down. Silly as it sounds, some of my best memories of the garden this year involved some of the hardest work, in preparing the soil and planting the seeds and seedlings. The valuable lessons I will have learned from all this work will exceed any physical bounty I pull from the ground or off the vine, though those are certainly fringe benefits.

Quinoa continues to be a garden success story. I almost can't wait for the first frost so that I can finally harvest it.

Rain

Soft drum of rain this morning, lullaby in the cool gray dawn. Twin Peaks playing tricks on my mind. Thanks for all the weird dreams Mr. Lynch. And the memories. At least I don't have to water the garden today.

Rain + Rain Barrel = Success

It rained all day long yesterday, soaking the newly composted half of the garden and overflowing the rain barrel. I may have to make an overflow valve at some point to divert water once the barrel is full so that the overflow doesn't degrade the soil directly beneath the barrel. I bought another 8 bags of compost to finish off the remainder of the garden, but that will have to wait for a sunny day, or at least a dry one.

Kept busy this afternoon transplanting some heirloom and cherry tomatoes into bigger pots. Looks like we'll be needing more windowsills and grow lights to accommodate all the plants we've sprouted. Also I moved the tray of oak leaf lettuce that Nathan sowed several weeks ago into the cold frame to begin adjusting to the cooler outside temps. As soon as the garden is fully composted I will be planting the broccoli seedlings, the lettuce, as well as direct sowing beans, peas and spinach. I re-planted the artichokes that I grew last year (but dug up before we roto-tilled) to the northwest corner of the garden. Here's hoping tomorrow's good for laying down some compost.

Rainy days

Since Sunday's pleasant sunshine, we've had rain, snow and more rain. Spring rains are normal for our climate, but they begin to inundate the spirit when they carry on ceaselessly. The past few days I've spent reading and working with the seedlings. All are doing quite well, especially the various tomatoes.

After the fact (as it usually goes) I've learned that the best time to prepare an outside garden space is directly after the growing season (early fall) or else in late spring AFTER the rains subside. As a result we're probably going to have to deal with some compacted soil from the constant precipitation. Oxygen within the soil is immensely important to good plant/root growth, so it will be important for us to turn the ground again before we continue. Today I picked up a few pieces of hardware for turning our food grade barrels into rain barrels and will make the first attempt at building one. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the seedlings.

Tomatoes under the flourescents.


Cilantro (at left) and Cherry tomatoes (right)