The late winter garden is a sad, gray mess. We have
had a cold winter so far here in central Virginia. Plants like swiss chard that were able to overwinter last year died slow deaths during a week in December that saw lows in the teens every night. In late fall, we covered the garden is fallen leaves, mostly from our two mature pecan trees, but even that insulation did little good for most of our remaining vegetables. So, the first thing I had to do to get started was remove that layer of leaves.
had a cold winter so far here in central Virginia. Plants like swiss chard that were able to overwinter last year died slow deaths during a week in December that saw lows in the teens every night. In late fall, we covered the garden is fallen leaves, mostly from our two mature pecan trees, but even that insulation did little good for most of our remaining vegetables. So, the first thing I had to do to get started was remove that layer of leaves.
So, I got out my trusty garden rake and pulled leaves to the side. The soil underneath the leaves was dark, rich, and full of earthworms.
A few words about my rake. This is my most important and most used garden tool. It is a 14-tine steel level-head garden rake. It is very old. It came from my father, and I have no idea how long he had it, but it was the rake he used in his garden when I was a kid. I suspect that it is older than me. The wood handle is longer than most rake handles. It has an amazing patina and it is thin enough to have a little flex in it but strong enough to be used aggressively. I have a bow rake, but I find that it is not as useful, and its handle is too short and too stiff.
My rake does four main things, and it does them all really well...
1. Used tines-down and pressed firmly, it digs into the soil and loosens the top layer of dirt, making it better for seed germination and for young plant roots to take hold.
2. Used tines-down and pressed lightly, it rakes pulled weeds and loose plant matter out of the top layer of soil.
3. Used tines-up, it smooths soil mounds, levels seed beds, and covers sown seeds.
4. Used on the side...The rake does a good job weeding a full seed bed, but sometimes a stubborn weed needs a little more force. Instead of going to the shed and getting the hoe, 99% of the time I turn the rake on it's side and use it like a hoe. I've gotten pretty good at this, and it saves me time.
After removing the leaf layer and getting up any weeds still clinging to life, I used the rake to loosen the soil and level it.
Then I use another high-tech tool (a broom handle) to make holes in the ground for the peas. There are a ton of ways you could plant peas. I tend to look for the ways that keep my back from getting sore. Bending over for extended periods of time are no bueno for my spine. So a simple broomstick with the correct depth marked on one end lets me make perfect pea holes from a standing position.
I made a jig last year that let me make 2 holes at a time, but I didn't like it. I need to be able to give the stick a little twist to exit the hole cleanly. Oh, and it's also important to go a little deeper that the recommended planting depth for that variety of pea or bean by a little, maybe a quarter-inch to a half-inch...you'll see why later. Be warned, that if you have moles in your garden, from time to time you will push down and suddenly break through, making a 6 inch hole where all you needed was just the tip of the stick. While annoying, those mole holes are easy to fix by pushing in more soil, which you must do. The pea won't ever see daylight half a foot deep.
This seed bed is ready for some peas.
So, what I do at this point is straddle the seed bed, and get a big handful of peas in my left hand. I transfer a small amount of seed (a dozen of so) to my right hand, bend down, and start plopping one pea in each hole. It's the only time that I actually have to bend down during this process, and it goes pretty fast.
One hole, one seed. It is fairly easy to mess up and drop two in a hole. I just leave them and keep going. Put seed into every hole in the seed bed.
Then the rake again. Remember when I said that I go a little deeper than I should? Here's why...I use the back of the rake to smooth soil into each hole. I just have to remember to be gentle and only shave off the top quarter inch to fill the holes.
Possibly the hardest part was finding the right markers in this tub of row label sticks.
I planted three seed beds with peas this weekend, a quarter of the garden. Each bed has a different variety...Alaska shelling peas, Melting Sugar snow peas, and sugar snap peas. The final step was to rake a thin layer of leaves over all three seed beds. This mulching helps keep the soil moist to aid germination and helps keep weeds from growing.
I'm not quite done with the peas...they will need some trellising and staking, but not for a while. Mainly, it was really nice to be in the garden again.
Nice not having to till this year. I am expanding the garden to twice the size and adding an additional plot specifically for corn and squash in a different location. We underestimated the need for pickling cucumbers this past fall and want to be ready this year. Our chard didn't winter over either, but I think it will not ever make it in Idaho. Hay over it suffocated it thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteTwice the size! Fantastic. I also had a shortage of cukes last summer. I'm probably going to plant three different varieties to get a wider range of harvest dates. I do have 2 things that survived the winter...but that's ammo for another post.
ReplyDeleteAwwwwwwesome Uncle Bill! I'm super jealous of you already... What else are you gonna do new this year?
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ReplyDeleteOh. You meant in the garden? Three words: Mexican Sour Gherkins.
Whoa, had to Google that, and that's pretty cool!
ReplyDelete