It’s Alive!

I would never have believed it, but less than a week after planting the winter garden there were seedlings! You’ll understand better with pictures, I think.

As far as anyone knows, this piece of land has never been used for anything more than lawn. Very poor lawn from what I could tell.

I laid out a small plot, eight feet by twenty feet, and broke the sod using a pitchfork because nothing else would work. It took most of a day, and that day was filled with the profound disappointment of not seeing any signs of life in the soil. No worms. Nothing.

Next day I tilled the plot deeply until the soil loosened up, then added 160 pounds of organic humus and manure, plus twenty pounds or so of leaf mold found on the side of the house where no one had cleaned up the leaves for the last decade or so. Good stuff! The bunnies contributed some old hay and lots of poop, so at least there’s some organic matter in the dirt.

Finally, on the third day, I tilled the plot gently, then cleaned and levelled one bed. A few earthworms found in the flower bed around the house were given a new home. I also did the first plantings:  mache, “Winter Density” lettuce, arugula, spinach, beets (for the greens), and dandelions. Dandelions are really good for the soil and contribute nice bitterness to salads. I also planted lots of garlic, carrots, and onions in another bed. A few days later, I planted kale and Rouge d’Hiver, a winter-friendly red romaine, and transplanted hops and raspberries brought from Oregon. Finally, I started another bed with several types of potato and more onions and garlic.

Then, the miracle:  only six days after planting, a row of arugula seedlings appeared! Now, after two weeks, all the winter vegetables have sprouted, at least in part. The possibility of fresh salad greens and greens for the bunnies from a winter garden looks to be on the verge of becoming a reality.

Next, the generosity of neighbors and Nature combine to give me a full day in the kitchen.