The Organic (non- GMO) Garden Diaries- 2

 The Organic Garden Diaries

Just a few days have past since my last post but I'm excited with our progress. This happened;

Might not look like much now but I'm hoping soon it will look something like this;

I waited til my husband was gone then dug a big hole in the middle of our yard... we have awful clay instead of soil so I refilled the hole with compost, replaced an inner circle of sod constructed the teepee with bamboo and twine and planted the peas. Now we wait.

I've begun hardening off the tomatoes and peppers that I started at the end of February and I have to admit that the first couple of days I worried about them, how strange to worry about the well being of a plant! They are doing well with the outdoor exposure and I am hopeful that they will transplant into the garden without complication.

My husband and I (ok, mostly my husband since someone had to keep our boys out of trouble) hooped half of our raised bed and built a taller structure for the half that will house our tomatoes, corn, peppers and other tall crops. The structure is covered in bird netting to protect it from the birds, squirrels and rabbits that threaten our garden efforts.The sides all come up for easy access for weeding, and harvesting.

 

I tested our soil before planting and found out that our pH and potassium levels are great but our nitrogen and phosphorus was low so I added some Dr. Earth Tomato, Vegetable and Herb Organic Fertilizer, mixed it in, mapped out my squares and sowed my first seeds! So far the short side has been planted with loose leaf lettuce, beets, carrots with radishes, german butterball potatoes, green onions and valencia onion seeds. I may have to wait a few more days to plant anything else as our forecast has a day of rain in store.

The potatoes are in the 4th and 5th row... as they grow you continue to bury them which is why it looks like holes right now

The edibles aren't the only ones getting busy- I also made a wildflower/good bug blend garden in front of the fence nearest the garden and also a strip along the berry house and the seeds are starting to sprout! I love seeing something I've planted reach through the soil and start to grow... it is satisfying in a way I could never have imagined.  

 
I planted a blackberry bush and though it was so tempting to keep the budding parts I was a good girl and cut it back to the recommended 2 inches to allow healthy root growth. Pretty sure that means I won't get blackberries this year but next year hopefully I will be rewarded for my sacrifice.

The strawberries and blueberries are doing great... our old blueberry bushes look amazing this year- the shoots are bursting with buds... I am beyond excited!

There is one item from my last to do list that I didn't accomplish- I haven't made my melon/pumpkin patch so I'm going to make sure to work on that this weekend. I plan to build up a bed instead of digging one up so I'm going to do a lasagna garden type of idea- cardboard base to block out weeds and since I don't want to wait for the traditional lasagna bed to be ready I'm going to pile it high with compost- both melons and pumpkins love compost rich soil.