View garden pictures before, during and after spring planting
This is always such an exciting time of year! The weather is warming up, everywhere you look are plants for sale, and I’m itching to get out in the garden. We actually started getting ready for the spring planting back in January. That’s when we made our garden plan and decided how much of what kinds of seeds to plant. We plant everything we grow from seeds. It’s so much easier to sit at the kitchen table with a seed tray, my garden journal and a cup of coffee to start my plants rather than be outside fighting the wind, bent over, often searching the dirt for seeds I dropped. I can be sure my seeds are viable long before March 15th arrives (the average date of last frost for this area). I love checking my baby plants from January to March. It gives me a chance to start gardening before I even get outside. As March 15th approaches, we begin watching the weather closely for the perfect time – when the chance of freezes is over, the wind is not too high, hopefully it’s a little overcast and if we’re really lucky, rain will be in the forecast a few days after planting.
Preparing the garden for planting, March 15
But before we can start putting those little baby plants in – we must get the beds ready! Just like getting a nursery ready for a new baby, the garden has to be cleaned up, refreshed and organized. We begin by pulling some of the weeds (not all, but the big ones) and spent plants. Next comes moving around any “hardware” – hoop frames, cattle panel trellises, etc. A fresh layer of 2″-3″ of mulch will help keep weeds down and feed the soil during the season.
preparing to plant, the children hard at work shoveling mulch
the garden before mulch, we didn't even bother to pull the weeds before
the mulch is creeping in, we didn't even bother to pull the weeds before
It’s planting day! March 18
Time to plant! This includes digging holes, amending the planting sight with our homemade compost, a scoop of Azomite trace minerals, gently placing the plant and covering it up mulch. Repeat this process 200 times and your done! The transplants included 44 tomatoes, 32 cantaloupe, 20 okra, 24 cucumbers, 12 eggplant, 28 peppers, 6 scallop squash, 12 butternut squash, 12 spaghetti squash, 8 basil and 8 Swiss chard. Next, we planted 144 corn seeds and 72 green bean seeds. All planting beds in the squash family get covered right away with wedding tulle over our hoop frames. The last step is to put tomato cages on tomatoes that are not planted next to cattle panel trellises. Then we just stand back and wait! Our potatoes are looking fabulous. The onions will be harvested soon and we still have a bed of lettuce that is producing.
freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
onions, freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
the children's buckets, freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
potatoes in the back, freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
potatoes in the back, freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
potatoes about a month before the harvest
potatoes about a month before the harvest
potatoes about a month before the harvest
potatoes not too long before harvesting, added wood shavings with chicken manure, potatoes thank us immensely
potatoes, freshly mulched garden just before planting (don't plant directly in the mulch)
a view of the garden from the balcony
planting in the trenches, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost (oh, and Jack keeping watch)
planting in the trenches, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting in the trenches, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
onions
onions
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
onions, planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
corn beds, planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
corn beds, planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
corn and tomato beds, planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
corn and tomato beds (potatoes in the back), planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
tomato bed and potatoes, planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
these new potatoes make excellent french fries!
these new potatoes make excellent french fries!
tomatoes, planting, pull back the mulch, make a bed of azomite, place the seeds, cover with compost
The miracle of life! (about a week after planting, March 26)
Thankfully the weather has cooperated! No late freezes and some of God’s Miracle Grow – rain!
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the children's buckets, the miracle of life, about a week after planting
okra, the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
onions and ?, the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
the miracle of life, about a week after planting
are we ever going to get to harvest these potatoes?
