April Bloom Day: First Day in the Garden

It's the 15th, so it must be Bloom Day in the garden blogger world. Well, here in Minnesota, nothing is blooming yet - not here in my yard, and not in anyone else's yard, either.

But, the good news is, this was the first outdoor gardening weekend of 2007! Although I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, several important items got checked off the list.

I composted four beds - one that's already been planted with garlic, the other three that will be planted with spring veggies this week. (I found several shoots of garlic when I removed the winter mulch.) I've decided to follow the advice in Teaming with Microbes  - I didn't dig in the compost. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it was pretty darn easy to just spread it on top of the beds. On the other hand, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was getting away with something somehow. Well, we'll just have to see how it goes. I also got the bean and snap pea trellises set up. It's obviously too early to even think about planting pole beans, but the trellis is too hard to get it in place once the peas are growing.

At long last, I finally got some seeds started. The seed tray in the front is all tomatoes. I believe I sowed about 10 varieties. (I'll verify this later; right now I'm too tired to go downstairs and get my notebook!) The second tray holds two varieties of cabbage - one red, one green, kale, peppers (Ancho, Hungarian Hot Wax and Paprika Alma), and garden huckleberry. The huckleberry is my "wildcard" this year. From what I understand, the berries are pretty bland when eaten raw, but are a good substitute for blueberries when sweetened. We'll see how they go. Actually, the cabbages are new for me, too - I've never grown them before.

While I was working in the garden, Spouse was able to get two things checked off his list. One was getting the snow blower put away for the summer. That means it cannot snow again until next October - at the earliest! The other thing Spouse was able to do was smoke a cigar while watching me pot up the seeds. I think that was his favorite part of the weekend.

Comments

[Carol]

I love that first day of working out in the garden after winter. And I'm intrigued by how you've made your raised beds. I used cedar boards on mine but they are starting to show some age and will soon need to be replaced. You've given me an idea of another option to consider with the stone. Would you make yours the same way if you had it to do over again?

[Tracy]

Carol: I really like the stone - a lot. The only problems are that some are sort of tippy (they're dry laid - no mortar) and they were expensive. The only thing I would do differently is put one more course on top - I wish the beds were just a bit taller. One of the side benefits of the wide, flat stone is that you have somewhere to put things down, even a notebook or watering can. You can also stand on them (but being careful of the tippy ones!) when working on something tall like bean trellises.

One thing the landscapers did was line the insides of the beds with landscape fabric so that the dirt wouldn't escape.

[Deb]

I dared to go out in my garden on Sunday and plant lettuce and other greens, under a row cover.

I think, among the pepper seedlings I planted, I have some Alma Paprika. I remember reading a blog post from someone who ground their own paprika, that's what got me started. I have not had much luck with peppers here, but that just means I have more to learn. :)

[Ali]

I am hoping that I'll get some seeds started today. We did manage a few things done Sunday morning before the storm, but once the rain began we've been trapped inside. Enjoy the better weather!

[Tracy]

Deb: I think we've turned the corner to spring here, so you should be save with the planting. I actually planted one paprika pepper plant last year, but I didn't dry them correctly so I had to throw them out (mold). This year I will dry them in the oven. I also read in a blog somewhere to dry them in pieces, then grind the pieces in a spice grinder when you need them. That's my plan, anyhow.

Ali: With all the rain you've gotten, I hope you can at least spend some time indoors planting seeds. I hope the weather improves for you this week!

[Kim]

Sounds like you got a lot accomplished! I grinned at this comment: "On the other hand, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was getting away with something somehow." It doesn't seem right that doing something the "better" way should be easier, too, does it?

[Tracy]

Kim: Exactly. It seems like preparing a bed should be work, and when it's not, it's unsettling!