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