My Day Off

My view in the community garden, I'm surprised only a couple people are here. We may get a little snow in a couple days, but things are growing and the sun is shining sweet today.

I filled in by the fence with more garlic (use what's sprouting in the kitchen first), and some shell peas. It's old seed but it's early so I can afford to gamble. I keep adding to the soil with goodies. I expanded down the fenceline and transplanted some broccoli starts that survived the winter here.

This is it, my pride & joy, my 4' x 8' box at the community garden. This beauty can grow some food! It's in resting mode with the mulch blanket for the winter. I pulled over 60 lbs. of tomatoes out of here last year, it was a good year. Plus, peas, beans, leeks, basil, potatoes, onions, lettuce, pak choi and strawberries around the back. Some stuff I did in pots; this year I'll be using Potato Bags, a cool container I found at Gardeners' Supply, nice and big and under $10.

I pulled the mulch off to start warming up the soil, and threw it into the tomato cages to save space and dry it out. Moved around some transplants. I'll keep spreading these out as they grow and eating some too.

The soil is so beautiful, I just put in some compost and limestone and called it good. I don't really till much at this point, don't want to disturb the network of teeming life below the surface. Why do I think this way?

Some early influences: The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins, The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka, The Magic of Findhorn, Permaculture by Mollison, How to Grow More Veg Than You Ever Thought Possible by Jeavons, and How to Have a Green Thumb without an Aching Back by Ruth Stout. All amazing books that you can probably find in the library.

And soon, a discussion of organic methods...