It is sunny, 80 degrees and I am up to my elbows in garden soil and compost.
Let me hear you say "AMEND!" brothers and sisters!
"AMEND!"
(Gracie and her girls just gave a resounding "AMEN!"...
they are so happy to be shorn in this hot weather!)
Our garden soil is in pretty good shape...
rocks removed, no weeds coming up (yet).
Some of our boxes I have amended with composted manure...
as some plants (such as leeks) require extremely rich soil.
Leeks pull a ton of nutrients out of the soil, so it is recommended to bury
a layer of composted manure several inches beneath the soil.
Hubbs (our Manure Manager) used the tractor to scoop a load of our oldest compost...
and dumped it into the back of the gator...
which I drove into the garden.
When we planned the new garden boxes,
we made sure to make aisles that were wide enough to accommodate the Gator
and our mowers.
Eventually there will be grass growing between and around the boxes.
I dug deep into the soil, removed the rocks...
dumped in the compost...
raked soil back over the compost....
planted the leeks (which had been previously started from seed.
So far I have planted: radishes, beets, carrots sweet potatoes and scallions from seed.
Red and yellow onion sets.
30 Broccoli plants.
30 cabbage plants
4 Chinese cabbage
6 red cabbage
12 kohlrabi
12 kale
12 swiss chard
red and green leaf lettuce
radishes
All of the above are plants that can tolerate cooler weather.
The rest of the garden will be planted in May, when warm weather is here to stay.
Around my broccoli plants I planted Rosemary plants as I read that aromatic herbs
help to keep the insects away.
I have mentioned before that I have many garden fairies.
I couldn't have this large a garden without them, for sure.
It seems, however, that I also have a few sprites.
You know when sprites are in your garden, as mischief is their calling card.
Yesterday, as I was turning over the soil and adding compost...
I happened to hit something quite large and solid in one of my boxes.
I dug down, and unearthed this!
Those sprites.... they sure gave me a surprise... and a good laugh!
PS....my new favorite garden gloves are these...
they do a great job of digging through the soil.
Comments
Lisa
Spring Peeper Farm
Everything is looking good.
to get many plants placed in the boxes . . .
and with a bit of "skull fun" along the way . . .
I have seen those gloves advertised . . .
thanks for the testimonial . . .
I need to try them too!
Those sprites! Always digging up trouble!
Enjoy the beautiful weather!
You have accomplished a lot in such a short time..No surprise there..Glad the gloves are working for you..After a little rain this morning, the sun is coming out..Have a happy day..