Garden Helper

Bob the Robin

For the past few days while we have been working on the beds, all of the digging has attracted a few robins. One of them in particular has gotten the courage to walk within five feet of me to snatch the freshly exposed worms I throw to him. Today he has been sitting in the Lilac bush, chirping loudly for a worm and then flying off with it to his nest. I have decided to name him Bob. I'm no bird expert and it's entirely possible that he is a she. I also know that Bob isn't very imaginative, but it stuck before we could think of a better one.

It was supposed to be in the high 50's today but the clouds had other ideas. Between the cold, watching Bob, and the discovery that bed #4 consists more of grapefruit sized rocks than dirt, we didn't get very far with digging. On a good note, yesterday Moriah direct seeded the spinach, turnips, carrots, radishes, and a lettuce mix in bed #1.

Purple Crocus

The first flower to bloom in our yard this Spring.

-Eric

First Post

Onion and Tomato Seedlings

We started this blog late for the 2010 gardening season so here is a summary of the past few weeks.

The seeds we ordered in January are all in the trays under the grow lights in the basement. Most of them are pushing their seed leaves through the soil.

This week we started on the raised garden beds. There will be two 4'x12' beds in the front and four in the back. We're using 12 foot 2"x8" untreated pine boards. We originally wanted cedar for the rot resistance but decided on the pine because of the cost. The boards are joined at the corners with three 3-1/2 inch stainless steel screws. To prevent the soil from pushing the sides out there are 2"x2" pine stakes every four feet on the outsides for support.

Double Digging Bed #2

We are trying the Biodynamic/French Intensive method. Without going into too much detail, this method forgoes the traditional rows and packs more plants into the same area. This allows for less water and space wasted, blocks light from weeds, and prevents compaction of the soil. For a detailed description of Biodynamic Gardening read this article:
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/biodynamic.html#intro

Oregon Peas

We are double digging the plots and adding a peat mix to fill in the beds. As of this post we have two beds completed and today bed 1 was planted with Oregon Peas, our first outdoor planting of the season!

-Eric