Sunday, April 10, 2005
Took me all day...
...but I finally finished a whole tray of last-minute peat pots: a couple more each of the Costata Romanescos and pattypan squashes, some loofa, some lemongrass, and six each of the Mexican sunflowers, wild sunflowers and brown-eyed susans, plus a couple more White Cushaws. It took me so long because my son was very needy yesterday and constantly wanted to be in my lap. It's hard to put seed to peat pot with a squirmy little boy climbing on you.
Yeah, I had to scrap the first round of White Cushaws. They finally started to grow, but they were growing upside down or something. They looked stunted, with roots sticking UP out of the soil. That can't be healthy, can it?
As the time draws closer to actually start messing about with the soil outside, I'm growing more and more confused and anxious about how exactly I want to cultivate my soil. I'm still undecided on what I want to do.
As of today, my plan is to make about a dozen 4ft x 4ft squares. Each square will be weeded, then amended with a compost/manure mixture. On top of each, a layer of newspaper, then a layer of the landscape fabric, then a layer of straw. That should take care of my massive weed problem. Then each square gets either one winter squash, or three summer squash, or three tomatoes, planted into holes cut into the center of each square.
And since my pumpkins did so well initially a couple years ago, I'll try the same thing with this crop: each planting will also get a mound of bagged garden soil, mounded on top of the hole the plant goes into.
Whew, sounds like a lot more work than I had anticipated, but I gotta do it. I'd love to just be able to stick my seedlings in the ground, but I just don't have that kind of soil.
Eh, if it took me all day just to sit and put seeds in tiny pots, wonder how long it will take me to do this to my back yard?!?!?
Yeah, I had to scrap the first round of White Cushaws. They finally started to grow, but they were growing upside down or something. They looked stunted, with roots sticking UP out of the soil. That can't be healthy, can it?
As the time draws closer to actually start messing about with the soil outside, I'm growing more and more confused and anxious about how exactly I want to cultivate my soil. I'm still undecided on what I want to do.
As of today, my plan is to make about a dozen 4ft x 4ft squares. Each square will be weeded, then amended with a compost/manure mixture. On top of each, a layer of newspaper, then a layer of the landscape fabric, then a layer of straw. That should take care of my massive weed problem. Then each square gets either one winter squash, or three summer squash, or three tomatoes, planted into holes cut into the center of each square.
And since my pumpkins did so well initially a couple years ago, I'll try the same thing with this crop: each planting will also get a mound of bagged garden soil, mounded on top of the hole the plant goes into.
Whew, sounds like a lot more work than I had anticipated, but I gotta do it. I'd love to just be able to stick my seedlings in the ground, but I just don't have that kind of soil.
Eh, if it took me all day just to sit and put seeds in tiny pots, wonder how long it will take me to do this to my back yard?!?!?
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