I just got done visiting the vegetable garden and I was thinking about how much things have changed. We’ve doubled the size of the garden and the number of compost bins. We’ve been building the soil up with organic materials and amendments, including compost from the kitchen leftovers and cover crops. We have beds of lettuce and carrots growing, despite our odd weather this year. Our season is looking hopeful.
Our main project right now is getting the beds in the new area built up with kitchen compost and chicken compost. We’re trying a new layering strategy to get the mucky clay into a working medium for the plants.
Speaking of which, we are bringing in a host of plants this year to fill the garden. See the list below for the specific plants. Like last year, we are using a companion planting strategy to reduce predation, increase pollination and improve plant growth.
This year we are lucky to have access to greenhouse space at N.C. State University to start our seed so we will have strong, healthy plants to put in the ground mid-April.
We’ve also been lucky with our worm bins this year. It was a bumpy start, but we have three thriving worm bins and their churning through a few pounds of lemur fruit and vegetable leftovers every week. We’ll separate the compost from worms in the beginning of April so we can add it to the soil before we plant. Look for the photos of how to do that soon.
Also, take a look at our photos (click the box of vegetables on the right)!
Click here for a review of the Summer 2011 Season!
Tentative Summer Plant Lists
Vegetables/Fruits: Carrots, Cucumbers, Cowpeas, Lettuce, Malibar Spinach, Sweet Peppers, Squash, Zucchini, Green beans (Spring), Turnip, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Daikon Radish
Herbs: Basil, Parsley, Marigolds, Borage, Mint, Sage, Nasturtium (Spring)
Other: Yarrow, Rue, Thyme, Artemisia, Tansy, Fennel, Chamomile
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