Almost a perfect day today with 18 from our 19 GC's!!! I'm so glad nicer weather is here. We've been having 50's and 60's here in the central Carolinas for the past few days with 70's predicted for the weekend!!! I can't wait. It's been one miserable cold and wet winter here near Statesville, NC. The news tonight said this was the ninth worst winter on record since they started keeping records back in the 1870's.
I took the day off today to make it a long weekend and I worked out in the garden all afternoon. We have a large (by my standards) garden which is 70'x40'. There are eight raised bed boxes that are 10'x4'x12" and I got 'em all cleaned out and prepped for planting. We've been doing seedlings inside since late January in two grow carts we got from Lowes last year. We're going to put in about 50 romaine, 25 bibb, a bunch of kale, onions, potatoes, and some other early crop veggies that we can get going right away. One of the boxes I used 10'x1/2" pvc pipe to form a high hoop over it and I covered it with clear plastic. I may do a second one tomorrow when I get home. On good days I can roll up the plastic and open it up and put it back at night if it's going to be frosty that night. When these plants have been set out we're going to start another 50 romaine so we'll have lettuce up until late June if all goes well. We did this last year and it worked out great! We'll be growing peppers, squash, cukes, and beans in the boxes. We do the Square Foot Gardening method based on the book by Mel Bartholomew. Outside the boxes we'll grow melons, peas, corn, beets, and okra plus some other things we like. One of the things I plan on doing is to plant a few rows of corn down behind the chicken run that will be for the sole use of our Gals. They go nuts over fresh corn on the cob all summer long. But spring is coming and I can't wait!!! The Earth is about to come alive again!!!
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sounds like your getting ready for crops,I used the raised bed and wide row method for years.Its a great way to have all kinds of vegetables,and the chicken litter from your compost pile will really be a big booster..good luck with your crops,,I can't wait to start planting
I only got 5 out of 9 today. It's a beautiful day here in the desert since the wind died down. I spent a lot of time outside in the garden but didn't plant anything. I did do some prep work and painted the frame for the fence to separate the iris bed from the veggie patch. If it's nice tomorrow I'll plant my tomatoes and cover them if we get a cold snap. I use raised beds for my tomatoes and they do well. Can't do anything until later in the day as DH is going to have a procedure done in the morning and it will take up a good portion of the day since I'm his designated driver.
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Yeah, we're getting ready. We clean our coop out almost daily and I've been tossing the droppings and a some of the saw dust out on the compost pile next to the garden. Back in the fall I started spreading that on the garden with a shovel and rake and let it rot in. A few weeks ago I did a quick turn in of the garden area with my roto-tiller and I've been really amazed by the quality of the soil I was turning up. What was a pretty bad yellow clay we have here that the locals call 'Yellow Bull Tallow' is now being reduced and broken down into some pretty good looking soil. At least the top couple of inches that I can see. Also, back in early October I sowed some seeds called 'Garden Cover' that I bought from the local Southern States Co-Op. It had a lot of clover and I think vetch and other annuals mixed in with it. It was supposed to help break down the clay too. I have high hopes for this year. Of course I've had high hopes in years past only to have them crushed by bugs and hail. One year hail completely ruined the garden just as it was at it's peak in July. I guess that's what you have to live with though. But every spring I suck it up and try again. Last year we did really good, especially with our fall garden. We were eating greens and taters all the way up into January. I still have several collard plants out there I think I can still make a pot out of if I tried.
Oh, before I forget, I try to apply both the Square Foot Gardening and Dick Raymond's Joy of Gardening who first started preaching the wide-row techniques. I've always done good gardens when I follow their leads.