Cold Crop Finished

Well today is my 27th birthday. I have to say I am pretty happy with where I am in my life. There are always place for improvement and my life sure has it, but overall life is good.

I finished planting the rest of my cold crops today. In bed #2 I planted 2 butter-crunch lettuce's, 2 romaine, bourdex spinich, swiss chard, 4 kinds of carrots, beets, mustard greens, dinosaur kale, and more shelling peas along the fence.

I thought this picture with labels might be helpful.


The weather was rather crummy today. 35 MPH winds with highs in the mid 50's but still very sunny. It sure felt colder then that out there! Luckily the seeding went quickly, we will have to see who pops up where with this crazy wind. When seed is only 1/8" down it had a tendency to 'travel', LOL!

Spring Color & Paths

This evening after work I spread Sphagnum in the rest of the beds and turned what I am calling bed #2 or the tomato and pepper bed. Jeff worked on the edging and the pathways getting one whole row done. We are putting 18" pavers down the center and a brick edging. We are hoping the pavers will help keep weeds down and the brick will help keep the soil off the pathways. As a bonus it looks nice too :)

Yesterday the rest of the alpaca was deposited into the new raspberry bed as well as a healthy dose of Sphagnum peat moss and was all turned. We ordered Autumn Britten (red) and Bristol (black) from Nourse Farms in MA. Just beautiful plants! We got bare root crowns 5/$11 or so plus shipping and the roots systems on these things where about 18" long and they are beginning to leaf out. We actually received 6 of one and 7 of the other so thank you very much Nourse Farms for the extra plants!

We also got 25 strawberry crowns, Annapolis. Only 13 fit in the new space so I have 12 more to find homes for or stuff in somewhere else.

I got Amelia and Noah their annual pack of Pansies and they did a great job digging the holes to plant them. Amelia did most of hers by herself and Noah needed redirection away from the worm and back to the plants but he kept insisting on "I do it" and tried hard.

We also managed to get the 20 Borrettana Onions, Russian Banana & Desiree potatoes, red & yellow shallots, Silver rose garlic and some radish seed all in bed #1 or the root crop bed.


I just couldn't squeeze in the broccoli rabbi or broccoli tonight. Maybe tomorrow morning before work if I get up early enough...probably not.

And then there was defination

Oh boy, was yesterday tiring, but the alpaca is moved.

Here's the running tally of yesterday's work:

Finished removing sod from new strawberry bed
Dung out 5' Elm tree from new strawberry bed
Cut back and removed stump of dead Weigela shrub
Filled both areas with compost
Defined beds in veg garden with loads of alpaca

All that's left in the main garden is to put on alfalfa pellets and peat moss and ask me dear friend to come till it all in for me. Then place stepping stones for defined paths, and PLANT!

I will just turn in the compost in the new strawberry bed and the raspberries will go where the Weigela was so that will need turning as well but the sites are about 90% ready for when my roots arrive tomorrow!

After the full docket yesterday I finished off the evening by working in Pat's yard too (Pat is my gardening client). Amelia came with me this time and helped transplant the many HUGE earthworms that where coming to the surface. She love the carry them around and them place them in the compost pile. I love her for that! I also took on another client for Spring clean up. I'm beat, but losing the weight I wanted and gathering the money I needed for my apiaries quicker then I imagined!