Tuesday March 9th,
It's planting time! And time to revive this dead blog so I can keep track of my gardening projects.
I went outside today to check my soil temperatures (they've been hovering just below forty degrees Fahrenheit for a few weeks) and I was greeted by this bastard
Absolutely bustin through the mulch layer. Burdock has perennialized in my garden, which was quite a shock considering how lamely it grew last year. But it's back! And my soil temperatures registered 45 so I'm putting things in the ground.
I started by raking off the mulch layer and tussling up the soil to get it nice and fluffed up for tiny seedling roots.
I followed that up with a good watering. I was very pleased to find plenty of moisture underneath the mulch, during an incredibly dry winter in an already arid climate.
I followed up with a litany of seeds (spinach, radishes, beets, bok choi, green onions, peas, and collard greens) on the soil surface and a light mulching to keep the moisture in. I'm testing this method of direct seeding, where I place seeds on the soil surface and then follow up with layers of mulch depending upon how large the seeds are (how much stored energy they have to fight upwards). Leaving soil bare in our climate, especially for something like a carrot or lettuce, where the seeds are very small, is not possible. Shallow sown seeds in our arid climate just can't stay moist enough to germinate, so I'm hoping this works.
The other test was a success! Onions made it through the winter. There are 4 in the ground that I am eager to watch go to seed this year. Here's hoping the beets survived the winter too!
Thanks for reading, and here's hoping they'll all grow.
Keep growing












