Posted by admin | Posted in Vegetable Garden | Posted on May 12, 2008
All my excitement quickly faded tonight upon learning horror stories of Salmonella/E-Coli and tomatoes so green and vigorous they produce no ripe fruit.
USDA requires uncomposted manure to be incorporated into the garden soil at least 120 days before harvest of a crop that touches the soil (carrots, lettuce, melons) and 90 days before harvesting a crop not in contact with the soil (peppers or tomatoes).
It’s disappointing I did not know this BEFORE I shoveled the s@&t! So tonight I will move all that I can from the garden to the compost pile.
I did learn that one can start their seeds safely in 100% raw cow or horse manure. Who knew!?
I found a handy chart on the fertilizer stats (nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash) of manure from dairy cow, beef steer, horse, swine, sheep/goat, rabbit, and chicken here: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/manures.html
Posted by admin | Posted in Vegetable Garden | Posted on May 10, 2008
After 3 days of work spreading the dirt and mixing in the decomposed wood and compost, it’s ready for the final preparation step… manure from the neighbors.
A big thank you to Ryan’s Aunt Nancy & Uncle Chuck for their help in spreading the huge pile of top soil into place. (And they brought over dozens of raspberry canes too!)
Once the exhaustion passed, we still had enough daylight to put a chicken-wire fence in place. Still can’t believe it! I keep looking out the windows to make sure it’s really done!
Posted by admin | Posted in Vegetable Garden | Posted on May 8, 2008
7:00 am arrival of 19 cubic yards of top soil. Thank you Ryan for helping out with lots of digging last night!
Decided on final veggie list:
- Popcorn
- Sunflowers
- Pumpkins
- Green Beans & Peas
- Cucumbers
- Several kinds of Tomatoes
- Several kinds of Peppers
- Carrots
- Beets
- Swiss Chard
- Onions & Garlic
- Watermelon
- 3 Winter & 2 Summer Squash Varieties
- Eggplant
- Spinach & Lettuce
- Radishes
Posted by admin | Posted in Vegetable Garden | Posted on May 3, 2008
Yes, the de-sodding dig continues. People ask why. Here are my reasons:
- I feel tilling will simply mix the grass into the clay and I’ll still have a grass problem.
- I assume tilling clay is difficult, and hey, why not be environment-friendly by not using gasoline to do the work?
- I don’t own large excavation equipment, nor a sod-harvesting machine. I don’t want to pay to rent anything (I haven’t found coupons for such things).
- Tilling soil with a spade is how I was raised, and everyone can use a little exercise.
- I read that turning the grass upside-down provides extra compost & nutrients down the road. Can’t hurt the clay IMO.
- Okay, okay, so maybe I should have used the newspaper method.
- You’re right, I should have planned ahead last fall with black plastic. I was too busy renovating a house and paying two mortgages.
We mowed the lawn for the first time today. What a wonderful smell!
Fertilized the fruit trees – twenty-one 16-16-16 fruit tree packets went into the ground!
Posted by admin | Posted in Vegetable Garden | Posted on April 30, 2008
Today I planted seeds in peat pots for: Pumpkin, Buttercup Squash, Butternut Squash, and Watermelon. These varieties have the most days until harvest, so I figured I’d get started!
Still no response from recommended excavator. Disappointing. Will try others tomorrow. I am eager for top soil! (Hmmm… I don’t think I’ve ever said that before.)
Posted by admin | Posted in Vegetable Garden | Posted on April 29, 2008
We broke ground today! Turned over 2 rows of grass. Based on the lengths of available RxR ties we have, the garden will be approximately 30×25′.
I started the list of what we’d like to plant and did a seed inventory. Studied up on which seeds I should start indoors. Time is flying by! Like every year, I should have started earlier.
I’m wondering… why do excavators not call back!?