Oops, new habits can be hard to make stick

Well, to be honest, there hasn't been too much activity, a new garden is only really full of anticipation, not veggies...yet! The week after we planted was bone dry, our humidity was around 8-10 degrees, so we had to water really regularly, but then we got some rain & the Rain Barrel got filled. But like the week before the rain, the following 5 days emptied the barrels onto the garden. However, we are back to a "normal" spring, now we are getting rain, or drizzle about 1 every day or 2, so the ground is nice a moist.

The Garlic is going great, and we've got peas popping up, and radish is moving along. Our strawberry bush transplants seem to be taking, and some of the raspberry stems we put in last fall are starting to leaf out! Spinach, carrots and lettuce aren't doing much, and there is a slight battle with weeds, but the beauty with square foot gardening is - Square Foot Weeding! I just have to look at one 12"x12" area and pull the weeds from it, that's not so hard, then repeat...But it makes the job more satisfying and less daunting.

You'll probably hear me talking a lot about Rain Barrels, and there is a reason, They're GREAT! If you don't know what a Rain Barrel is, it's simple a barrel that goes under your downspout from your gutter and captures excess rainwater, so instead of it washing oil and fertilizer into local streams and rivers, you can use it to water your organic garden and not use a lot of water that had lots of energy put into it by making it potable. it takes only the slightest rain to fill the barrels, and the water can be used for days or weeks depending on weather conditions.

We just got some potatoes from Seed Savers, and I'm hoping to put them in the ground this weekend, and there is an organic plant sale at the local Co-op, so this should be an exciting weekend for gardening! Stay Tuned...

Woke up sore

Here is the site of our garden, each week I'll post a picture from this same vantage point so you can see all my successes and learning experiences as this growing season progresses. The area is on the South side of our home, and fenced off on all 4 sides to keep our dog our, and to give us a peaceful rest from the city. We are square foot gardening a la Mel Bartholomew and his Book "Square Foot Gardening". His book is great, you really get a new view of how to garden in a small space while conserving seeds. We are also using James A. Frizzell's book Guide to Minnesota Vegetable Gardening, for a more local look.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday and it was about 55 and sunny, a great day to get some early vegetables in the ground. We planted Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, Mustard Greens, Beets, Radish, carrots, strawberry bushes, Strawberry Blight or Spinach Strawberry, established an Asparagus bed and uncovered the Garlic that was planted last October. We also planted Cilantro and Parsley as well as flowers in pots and hanging baskets.
Most of our seeds were ordered form Seed Savers, but what we couldn't get from them, we picked up at our local Co-op.
As for the Garlic, I purchased some seed stock organic garlic from "The Garlic Lady" last year at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, she gave a nice 30 minute presentation on how to grow garlic, and then had some great Garlic varieties to sell. I got Siberian, Leah and Northern White. This is the picture of what I uncovered after the winter, It is very encouraging to already have things growing!

Turning over the dirt

We just raked and started turning the soil and removing rocks agin this year. Tomorrow we will start our asparugus bed and plant some lettuce.