Transplants Are Done Now What?

Well, we spent the week sowing seeds into assorted pots, containers and soil blocks. Now what are we up to on the homestead? We tilled under all the hay, straw and compost that we spread to overwinter in the garden and orchard. This is the last till under on this scale that we'll have to do. From now on it will just take a rake and fork. Yes, we've finally built up enough good, organic soil in these areas!

HURRAY!!

It's taken a couple of years of work to get to this point. Our soil is once again teeming with all healthy organisms and worms galore. We can dig over two feet down and not hit granite nor hard packed clay. The soil may have streaks of the red clay throughout, but it's light and fluffy for good oxygenation of the root systems. As if we needed further proof, this winter has been one for the record books for rainfall. Not once during the deluge of rain fall did the garden flood even with several inches of rain. This sure beat three years ago when you needed galoshes to walk in the garden area.

The gate posts Mel built out of the Sweet Gum tree she chopped down and pallets fell over winter. Too much rain, high winds, and weight snapped off the trunks at ground level. She has plans for a new set up for this year. The garden gates will be housed with an arch way with climbing roses in raised boxes on either side. We are aiming to beautify or spaces this year now that we have firm outlines and good soil within. I'm thinking of the Rosa Rugosa. They are a single petaled rose that should give us ample rose hips at the end of blooming season.

Remember, us being a small homestead of only two acres, everything has to do double or triple uses. In this case attract pollinators, rose hips for health and nutrition, and beauty(and fragrance). Our herbs and flowers also do the same thing plus deter the bad predators in our garden like cut and cabbage worms, aphids, etc.

Of course, I'm still waiting on Mel to give me the bottom line on what she needs to purchase. She's great at planning and building projects, but she's slow in determining cost of a projects. Since I'm the one footing the bill, I kind of want to know.This irritates me a bit because it shoots any budgeting plans I have in the foot.

Garden gate fell!

While the arched arbor with roses climbing over them would be grand, I just want a gate that will keep our free ranging chicken out of my growing vegetable patch. I don't want a repeat of the darn, blasted chickens again like the first two years of gardening here. They've done their job of denuding, eating pests, fun scratching, and fertilizing our garden all winter long. Now is my turn to play.

In two weeks, we'll start planting our cool weather crops like English peas, radishes, beets, carrots and lettuces so the gates need to be fixed. So far, the chickens have not messed with the garlic and leeks we planted last fall. Here's hoping they survive in the orchard. I don't want to even plant in the garden before the gate goes up. Not to mention my having easier access (safer) into the garden.

So we're setting up the garden to be planted. This year Mel set up the garden plan with a little input from me. Just the opposite of the last three years. Maybe her Hodge podge way of planting will work better this year with decent soil. I'll definitely be mulching it all in and watching.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Jo