The Freshly Mulched Garden

As the weekend drew to a close, we were able to haul the remaining compost over to our "homegrown" pile behind the shed, smooth over the planting beds and lay down some fresh straw along the garden paths. Now that Marc is able to spend more time with me in the garden, we can get much more done in one weekend. One of the things I like best about gardening is being able to stand back and look at a finished project with pride. Maybe it's because vegetable gardening is something born from your own two hands (I doubt that we would feel the same way if we had paid someone else to do it). I also enjoy its communal aspects as well. Marc's mother came over to help out, our neighbors were out tidying up their yard and our children were running around both properties laughing and playing. It's times like these that make me appreciate the simpler things in life.

Anyway, here is what it looks like now:


A half bale of straw was enough to cover this space. I have to admit that straw isn't really my favorite form of mulch but it does present a nice contrast to the dark raised beds, especially when it's still relatively fresh and yellow.


I also got around to sowing some shell peas, snow peas and French Breakfast radishes. Still no signs of the Fava beans I planted two weeks ago (though it has only warmed up in the past week). Should I be worried? I might have to start some indoors just to be on the safe side.
This week I'll also be sowing some carrots and mesclun mix and transplanting several varieties of broccoli. With temperatures remaining in the 6o's this week, I finally feel as though the Spring gardening season has begun.


On a final note, I tidied up our compost pile a bit to make way for the excess we purchased. I moved all of the fresh(er) garden waste to the left. The waste to the right has broken down quite a bit but still needs several more months to finish.


We piled the remaining compost onto the semi-decomposed waste. Hopefully, this will help speed the process along. As you can see, my composting pen is pretty lame. Until I find a composting system that I really like, this will have to do.

Compost Question for the Masses - To Dig or Not to Dig?

Looking at this picture, you would think it was still mid-March. This spring (at least in my opinion) has been a bit cooler than usual thus far and I think we are at least a couple of weeks behind schedule temperature-wise. However, it seems Mother Nature is now playing catch up as it's expected to get into the 60's during the next six days. (I need to plant peas ASAP!)

Anyway, I thought I'd take a few pictures this weekend to document the progress we're making each day. The ground is still soft but no longer muddy and the beds have dried up quite a bit. We only had a couple hours to work in the garden today but it felt really good to break a sweat under the mid-afternoon sun.


We took the plastic off of the hoop house today mainly because the inside temperature was reaching into the 90 degrees during the day (bad for spinach and Asian greens) and also because I was really sick of looking at it. I would have just taken off the doors but it was casting a shadow as well. The frame will be kept up this summer as I'm thinking of growing pole beans or cucumbers on them. This fall, I'll move the hoop house a row over so that it no longer casts a shadow and install the professional greenhouse plastic.

We also cleaned up most of the beds and started to lay down the compost. Anyway, here is my question to all you out there:

Do you dig your compost into the soil or just let it rest on top? Obviously, digging it into the soil would be the more conventional approach but I've read an article or two that said that leaving the compost on top (or working it lightly into the top two inches of the soil) and allowing the worms to bring it down slowly mimics nature to a greater extent and is therefore more beneficial to your plants. On the other hand I've also read that sunlight can diminish the quality of compost. For heavy feeders such as melons and tomatoes, I can see the benefits of digging a deep hole and filling it with compost, but I wonder if turning the compost into the soil is really necessary most of the time. The lazy garden in me hopes not. Any thoughts on the issue?

What "Work" Looks Like

Yesterday, I placed a delivery order for some compost with Rogers Spring Hill Garden and Farm Center located in Ward Hill, Massachusetts. It promptly arrived this morning. This is what 4 cubic yards of compost looks like on your front lawn. Now I know what I'll be doing for the next three days.

At $30 a yard (plus $30 delivery free), I felt like it was a good deal. The same amount of packaged compost would have cost a lot more. Hopefully this will be enough to amend all of my beds. The rest will be stored for the fall garden.

Fall Blues - Garden Update

I have to admit, I'm not quite sure how I feel about my garden right now. For some reason, I thought I'd be a bit more excited than I am about the fact that I still have things growing. Not that I'm disappointed by how my fall garden has turned out this year, I'm just feeling a bit ambivalent about it all. Does anyone else get the fall blues this time of year?

I'm taking some much needed time off from work this upcoming week. Maybe all I need is a full day in the garden (which I haven't been able to do in ages) to get me out of my doldrums. I still have to dig the remaining half of my garden for next year. There's really not much to report right now, but here are a few random tidbits:


Our wacky weather caused my white stem pak choi to bolt. I never thought that this would be happening this late in the year.


Here is my attempt at making leaf mold this year. As the piles pack down, I'll continue to add more leaves. I wanted to chip these leaves first to speed up the process but alas, I think my wood chipper is permanently on the fritz. Any ideas on how long it will take for these leaves to break down? They are mostly maple.


I have some fall green manure growing in a couple of my beds. I wanted to clear the remainder of my plot and sow green manure in preparation for next year, but unfortunately, I never got around to it. As a result, I have a ton of seed remaining. Hopefully, they will remain viable for next fall.


The mache that I sowed back in early October hasn't been doing much of anything. At this rate, they won't be ready to harvest until early Spring.


Garlic shoots! It's nice to know that they are alive underneath all of that straw mulch.


Ever since I harvested my pea shoots, the plants have been pouring their energy into making pods. I've been harvesting them young and they are quite delicious.


Finally, I will start harvesting some spinach leaves either this weekend or the next. I noticed that some of the older outer leaves are starting to turn yellow. I'm wonder if this is normal or if the temperature inside my hoop houses get too hot during the day. Everything else seems to be enjoying the added warmth. I think I'll devote an entire bed to spinach next fall and not cover it until very late in the season.

Making Compost

Yesterday, I started my compost pile. I figured I should find a good use for all of the grass clippings we've accumulated in the past month. It's amazing how quickly grass grows, not to mention the amount of effort that goes into maintaining a decent-looking half-acre lawn. It almost doesn't seem worth the trouble (but that's just the gardener inside me talking). Next year, I'm hoping to get most of my "green" material directly from the vegetable garden, however for this year, grass clippings will have to do.

I decided to utilize some leftover 2" by 4" wire mesh (which I used for my fencing) to construct my compost cage. The ring is held together by plastic electrical ties (easy to attach and easy to snip off). It took about 5 minutes to assemble. As far as locations go, I decided to place my compost pile behind the shed under the evergreen trees. This location is out of sight from the house (though I find nothing "ugly" about a compost pile). I figured the evergreens would act a kind of protection from heavy winter snow storms and drifts.

I'm building up my compost pile in layers of brown, green and black. I started off by putting a layer of straw into the cage. I purchased the straw this past weekend for use as a mulch in the garden and as a "brown" in the compost pile. A 50 pound bale was only $9 and more than enough to suit my needs. Adding straw ensures proper drainage and airflow. Then came a layer of grass clippings or "green". Next, I added a layer of grass roots, which I removed from the plot when digging my raised beds. The "black" component comes from the soil that's caked onto these roots and supplies the microbial life that will break down all of this material. Finally, although I forgot to do so yesterday, I will also add a fine layer of greensand and rock phosphate to top things off. So why go through the trouble of building these layers? Eliot Coleman likens this process to that of a smoldering fire. The browns provide the fuel, the greens provide the fire, and the microbial life powers the engine. Evenly distributing these elements ensures that this engine runs smoothly, or at least that's what we hope for.

After I had accumulated several layers of material, I watered the pile well. I will also cover it with a piece of tarp or old carpet to keep it moist. All that's left to do now is to slowly build up this pile and wait for mother nature to do her thing.