I have officially started gardening.

In the front, I put in some annuals yesterday to fill in the gaps between all the beautiful spring bulbs I put in for under $5 for 70 bulbs in January or February (clearance, because I guess it was too late to plant, but they're still flowering.) They were the ones my Mum paid for, but they were still only 45c each for gorgeous pansies and an English Lavendar plant for $3.

In the new vegetable garden I'm not expecting much. It's my first year with a garden in that spot. We did the no-dig thing where I covered the grass with carboard, soaked it with water, then piled up 6-8 inches of compost, dirt, whatever I could find (autumn leaves, potting soil from some old potted plants I had, any worms I found on the driveway in the rain, lol). We started all that in January I think and I thought it would take a few months to start to break down. But already, I dug in a shovel and found it is already breaking down and soft and rich and wormy.

So anything I get out of that garden is a bonus, right? It's only a small spot for now (5 feet square, or something like that), because I didn't know if this no-dig thing I looked up on the internet would work. I've planted some rhubarb that I dug from a friends house already, and also some seeds yesterday. I got them all at the end of last season, for like 15 cents a packet. I just did easy-to-grown stuff that we already eat and like. Green beans, cucumbers, yellow beans, zucchini, squash, lettuce. We'll see if anything happens, but I'm sure we should see some fruits for our minimal labours. LOL.

It might even be too early for seeds, but I figure we'll just wait and see. It's supposed to be fun and I'm not going to stress about it. If we get anything to eat out of this vegetable garden, we'll be ahead of the game because it's cost us nothing to do it so far. And the labour isn't too much and what there was was also exercise which I need too. Anyway, I'm excited to see if anything happens. Theoretically, eventually the carboard and grass underneath and everything will all be broken down and it will be a nice thick growing layer. The grass wasn't even growing there too well so it's no loss to us as far as yard space. Okay, I can't stop talking about it. LOL.

Kerri

We're trying that method, too. I can't wait to see what happens with it.

I have little tomato seedlings in pots right now. They're my mystery tomatoes, because they're from seeds Sandi sent from some heirloom tomatoes she had. :)

Hmmm is there a name for that method or do you have any links? I've been reading the new square ft gardening and was thinking of doing it but I can't find vermiculite for his soil-less mix.... I'm just going for a small square garden this year also. And a few potted things.
Anne

DH's dad would be disappointed that you can't find vermiculite - that's what he makes for a living. :D I have some in my garage that I got at Home Depot. It's with the perlite and stuff.

Now for a little vermiculite lesson. Do y'all know what it is? It's mica (the rock) heated to extremely high temps till it expands, almost like popcorn popping. You can take a little piece and recompress it with your fingers, and it looks like a teeny piece of mica again. Anyway, since it's completely natural, I feel great about it as a soil amendment.

DH's dad would be disappointed that you can't find vermiculite - that's what he makes for a living. :D I have some in my garage that I got at Home Depot. It's with the perlite and stuff.

Now for a little vermiculite lesson. Do y'all know what it is? It's mica (the rock) heated to extremely high temps till it expands, almost like popcorn popping. You can take a little piece and recompress it with your fingers, and it looks like a teeny piece of mica again. Anyway, since it's completely natural, I feel great about it as a soil amendment.

I'm going to keep looking. I'll probably have to go to Tulsa. I did find perlite which I guess I can settle for if I must :) We are going to OK City this weekend.... I think dh might be annoyed if I make him stop at every place I see that might have it :p The sq. ft guy says it's great for holding moisture.
Anne

Gardening Australia - Factsheet: Step-by-Step No Dig (http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s867068.htm)

No Dig Gardens are the quickest easiest method to get growing! (http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/)

Factsheet about No-Dig gardening (http://www.organicgardening.org.uk/factsheets/gg2.php)

bestgardening.com No Dig Gardens (http://www.bestgardening.com/bgc/howto/organicnodig01.htm)

Also, Lasagna gardening is no dig gardening as well... and there are a million zillion books on that. ;) (Like that... million zillion... lol... I have been spending a lot of time with a 10 yr old boy this week. ;) )

I did this last year Kerri... and you saw my garden. No worries... you will get plenty. I have about 14 worms per shovel and dark yummy soil. It will take a year or two before the cardboard and stuff will break down, but yes, that will work too. (Mine was just news paper and I still have chunks of it in some places.)

My gardening this year is starting to take off. I bought that stuff for the raspberry bed (which still needs to be done) and I am waiting to plant seeds until it gets a bit warmer (we had a frost here last week, that would kill bean seedlings). Alex planted peas, they are coming up, EVERYTHING is blooming from my tulips to my currants to my blueberries. :D YAY! Even my rosemary is blooming right now. Now all I really need to do is support the raspberries and the pathway and I am ready to plant.

I am thrilled about this season. Second year gardens are always better than first, and mine was pretty awesome last year, so I am excited.

Val

I'm so excited for everyone. My garden is buried under a foot of snow, with more scheduled for the next week. I don't have space for starts this year so will be buying started plants.

Now if we end up getting a tractor, I will be in good shape for gardening season. If not, I'm dreading dealing with the garden - it's super lumpy and full of grass and needs *something.* Maybe the no dig, but how can I do that if it's going to be covered in snow for a few more weeks yet? Ugh. We usually plant June 1.

I have lots of gardeners to commiserate with here, but I have to say I am so jealous!

We can't plant here until the first week of June....

We've put in a 40 X 40 foot potato bed, plants are small to about 12 inches. Though we keep putting dirt up around them. Now they also have a good 6 inches of straw over the bed too. We have a raised bed that's 4 X 8 full of swiss chard, romaine, spring mix, garlic, some green onions and a few other misc lettuces. We put a piece of hog wire arched over this, and have had it covered with plastic, for a greenhouse effect for weeks. Now we've planted peas and pole beans so they'll grow up the hog wire to shade it as it gets hotter. Our other garden is a bit odd shaped, 50 X 70 at the longest point, probably 50 X 60 at the shorter end. We've got nearly 40 tomatoes already in, a full row of sugar snap peas, 1/3 row of green beans (4) 1/3 rows of corn (need 4 rows to polinate). We'll stagger these a couple of weeks apart. We have a 70 foot row of giant sunflowers that will get pole beans planted as mates when they're about 6 inches tall. Got to give them a head start. We've got 1/3 the cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, cantaloupes and watermelons in, again to stagger. We've got some peppers in, lavender, a few grape vines, blueberry bush and the rhubarb is lurking out there somewhere.

We've been using a little Mantis tiller. That thing is awesome!! Thanks Dad. :) It's tiny, the 8 yo can use it, but it can power down a good 12 inches no problem!

Lauren, you could experiment with getting a garden started earlier, outside. Not with snow :lol: but as soon as it's gone. Last year we put down straw bales and planted in those. They retain heat nicely. You could make a raised bed using the bales as the sides, fill w/dirt, compost, leaves, chicken "stuff" lol, just everything, more dirt on top. I'd fill about half way or so. Then plant, and cover with plastic. Clear for day, and extra layer of dark for night, or even old feed bags/whatever. It should stay quite toasty in there w/the bales giving off heat. If the plants get tall, you could easily stick in some Tposts or step in posts to support the plastic, or even a piece of that hog wire. Once it gets warm enough, you can also plant right in to the tops of those bales. You can use the bales for two years, sometimes 3, or you could just till it all in w/that tractor next year.

Lauren, you could experiment with getting a garden started earlier, outside. Not with snow :lol: but as soon as it's gone. Last year we put down straw bales and planted in those. They retain heat nicely. You could make a raised bed using the bales as the sides, fill w/dirt, compost, leaves, chicken "stuff" lol, just everything, more dirt on top. I'd fill about half way or so. Then plant, and cover with plastic. Clear for day, and extra layer of dark for night, or even old feed bags/whatever. It should stay quite toasty in there w/the bales giving off heat. If the plants get tall, you could easily stick in some Tposts or step in posts to support the plastic, or even a piece of that hog wire. Once it gets warm enough, you can also plant right in to the tops of those bales. You can use the bales for two years, sometimes 3, or you could just till it all in w/that tractor next year.

Actually she could do this and then put Peas, Cilantro, Romaine lettuces, Broccoli, Coliflower, and Kale all in right now. Under the snow. lol... Just let the snow box it in in its little straw bale green house and they will all grow, believe it or not. I have cilantro and romaine and they both lived through our last hard frosts AND 7 inches of snow easily with no cover at all.... the peas died, but only on the 4th day of hard frost. It is amazing what cold weather plants will deal with. ;)

Val

Really? It's going down to 12 degrees again tonight and that will be the low all week. They won't freeze?? High will only be 30.

Another part of the problem is getting out to where the garden is. It's impossible/difficult right now. Looooong way to shovel to. LOL. I did mention we have up to three feet of snow on the ground still? It is as little as a foot where it melted (near the house, on the paths, etc) but the drifts and larger areas are about three feet deep.

good for you! Gardening is the most wonderful thing IMO. We have been doing as much as we can lately & I love just sitting outside in the evening soaking it up! Right now our strawberries are coming in nicely, some lettuces, spinach,basil, we have some squashes & tomatoes, beans... just starting but they will be lovely! We have a bunch more that will go in the ground in the next week.

Our neighbors were disappointed when we told them we weren't going to put any pumpkins out front this year, they said they really enjoyed seeing them grow. So, I think we will put in a patch this year & encourage the neighbor children to come & pick some. That will be loads of fun this fall! :)

Oh, our fruit trees are blooming. Spring has sprung! :)

I left my raised beds behind when we moved, so we are starting from scratch. :wah: We got the boards to build the raised beds, and we have a huge pile of manure ripening. We need to have some deer fencing put in and the guy is coming this week. I wish we could do it, but they say the deer here (and there are gazliions) will jump an 8 ft regular fence if they like what's on the other side. I saw 3 deer absolutely sauntering across the road the other day...

Last week we planted peas, lettuce, and spinach from seeds in a bed left by the old owners. It's right near the house, so I don't think the deer will get that close...I'm grateful for my barky sheltie right now. lol

I have some flowers in pots in the house, along with some toamtoes and other fare I planted from seed.