Sunflowers germinating out of their own free will in the garden is a sure sign that spring in somewhere around the corner. After pulling up the row cover to take a look at our now salad bowl sized lettuce, I noticed some cotyledons that seemed all too familiar. It was almost hard to believe that these volunteer sunflowers had the strength to do it. I hadn’t even started them in the greenhouse yet.
Over the past few weeks we have been busy taking full advantage of Milwaukie’s longer and warmer evenings to prep beds and play with plants. Two of the four main garden plots are now plantable. We have our first bed of lettuce planted, a bed of spinach, broccoli, kales and chards, and tomorrow- onions, mustards, radishes and turnips! Our protocol thus far has been:
1. Mow cover crop.
2.Test soil moisture- We like the ball toss…
3. Broadfork- It is kind of patheticto see my pounce on this thing, Conner makes it look so easy. We recently aquired this from Red Pig Tools and are loving the depth at which it opens up the soil. It has been great for getting the airflow in there so the soils can dry out even more.
4. Spread compost from Nature’s Needs and a Complete Organic Fertilizer (ratios care of Steve Solomon).
5. Till with our TroyBuilt monster.
6. Fork and fluff.
7. Plant!
So far so good. Obviously, this process is spread out over a period of weeks. We need to give the cover crop ample time to break down, the soil time to warm up, and the plants time to grow.
Another fun inspiring activity of late has been visiting our local gardening/farming friends. A few evenings ago we were able to walk over to visit Mel at Backyard Bounty for a barn raising. She and I have been trading transplants and garden stories and she just moved to a plot in Milwaukie! A few of our other friends recently bought a house in the opposite direction and are knee deep in transforming a backberry patch into an edible garden oasis. It has been incredible to share the excitment of spring with our new dirt lovin’ neighbors!
As far as the CSA goes, it looks like we are on schedule for our June 1st CSA Share #1. We might even be sooner!
Also, the broilers are alive and well out on the grass. They are loving all the new succulent growth. When I came home today they were all splayed out in the sun….A wonderful sight!
