Vegetable Gardening

**mudmucker** · 01-04-2011, 06:37 AM

Raised beds? Yes.
Rocky thin soil? Yes.
Many rocks? Yes.
Truckloads of topsoil? No.
My own composted soil annually? Yes.

Here's my garden.

By the way, a couple of months ago, I tried that butternut squash recipe off the Mother Earth News lasagne gardening. It is out of this world and one of my new favorite ways to use butternut squash. I modify it though. I don't cook my lasagne noodles anymore. Plus I don't bake in a oven, I use a crockpot. Plus I remove the white sauce part of it. So it goes like this:

Spoon in pureed squash (don't even season it) at bottom of crockpot. Place uncooked noodles on top. Just start layering squash, noodles, and cheese just like you would regular tomato sauce lasagne (As I said, no white sauce). Crockpot on high - it's ready in an hour and a half or two. Put it on low, a little longer. Comes out perfect every time, not runny, not dry. I really like the combination of sweet squash against the salty cheese.

**tulip** · 01-04-2011, 09:55 AM

I'm with mudrucker. I have very rocky soil and was not willing to injure my back by digging down. So I built raised beds, put down a thick layer of newspaper, and loaded them up with compost. I add about a wheelbarrow of sifted compost from my bins to a bed a month. Seems to work great.

I also make my lasagne in the crockpot, although a more traditional recipe with lots of spinach. That butternut way sounds delish, though.

I love your garden, mudrucker!

**skhill** · 03-01-2011, 10:02 AM

Ok, so it rained 2.3 inches yesterday. And it was 31 F when I stepped out into the garden at dawn today. But it's March, I'm jonesing for fresh veg, so I went ahead and planted a row of peas in the very cold mud. Maybe they'll come up, maybe not... If the rain holds off this weekend, I'm planning on cleaning up the garden and deciding what goes where this year. And planting some more too...

C'mon, spring, we're waiting!

**spokewench** · 03-01-2011, 11:05 AM

Lucky you! you can actually see the ground. I'd have to dig down through at least a foot of snow to find my beds right now. I've got a long wait for planting anything.

**spokewench** · 03-01-2011, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by crazycanuck

Lisa, they'll be outside where our boooteful sunshine can help the green stuff grow n be yummy!

Just wondering if anyone's used a raised garden bed??? I can't post a link at the moment but this is the website www.naturalyards.com.au.

In this thread, go to my entries at 8/28/2010 and 10/7/2010. This shows my garden from this year. There are two raised beds there for my veges (and one for flowers this year). These beds are about 6 x 4 feet and I filled them with topsoil and manure to start and add manure/compost every year to help them out.

You can't tell from the picture, but the beds are about 12" deep. They are at the bottom of my yard so the yard washes down to the beds and you can hardly see the raised walls anymore!

If you look at my 10/7/2010 entry, this shows gardens and also the last harvest before our first hard frost. It froze hard that night so I had to get the produce off the vines! This was probably my best year ever since we had lots of rain this year!

spoke

**NbyNW** · 03-01-2011, 11:25 AM

This is what my raised beds look like today. Our high temp today is expected to be about -22℃/-8℉. Around here they say danger of frost lasts through Memorial Day.

I really need to get myself back to Seattle!

**badger** · 03-01-2011, 11:40 AM

mudmucker, I LOVE your garden!!!

I'm contemplating a raised bed this year on my concrete patio, but I'm afraid it's going to make a huge mess. I wonder if I'll be able to keep it for years, or if I'll have to take it apart annually at the end of the season? the best thing to do is to move to a house with a yard... *sigh* one day.

**tulip** · 03-01-2011, 11:52 AM

Two weeks ago, I planted plants of bok choi, lettuce, arugula, and kale (spring--I've already had kale and collards growing through the winter--and eating them). They are all doing very well, as are my overwintering leeks, which I have to trim and replant to (hopefully) keep them growing and prevent them from blossoming like last year.

I have to plant potatoes, peas, shallots, and onions this weekend, as well as start seeds for summer veggies. I'm a bit behind on that task.

The daffodils and crocus are blooming, and I expect to see some strawberry blossoms in a few weeks.

This year my challenge will be to use my beds wisely in terms of space. Last year I was not very efficient and I could have grown alot more if I had planned better for seasonal plantings.

I am very, very happy to live in a mild climate.

**celticgarden** · 03-02-2011, 05:17 AM

What I wouldn't do to see my garden like this again soon....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2417195...7626180964512/

Right now it's still covered in snow. Hoping to start soon (indoors) brassicas, lettuce etc.

Linda

**BleeckerSt_Girl** · 03-16-2011, 02:04 PM

Finally the snow has melted off the veg garden. I'm amazed to see bunches of baby spinach still alive and green, and some of last year's carrots seem to be still fresh in the ground.... WTHeck???
Can't wait to plant some lettuce and spinach again! Lots of digging and hoeing ahead, but the ground is still mostly frozen yet. The 10 little blueberry bushes look alive too, with red leaf buds on their green stems.

**skhill** · 03-23-2011, 06:35 AM

I'm so excited-- so far, spinach, swiss chard, and peas are up, and the tomatoes I'm starting inside have just sprouted! I've also planted some lettuce and mustard greens, but it'll be a few more days for them...

Of course, we've got a cold snap coming, with lows down in the low 30's. At least we're spared the snow that so many places are seeing today...

**spokewench** · 03-23-2011, 06:55 AM

Yep, I was hoping to take some of my Wednesday off to work on cleaning up my garden beds. Not to be, though as we had 7-9 inches of snow on Monday. It is melting fast so maybe this weekend?

**GLC1968** · 03-23-2011, 08:27 AM

Originally Posted by spokewench

Yep, I was hoping to take some of my Wednesday off to work on cleaning up my garden beds. Not to be, though as we had 7-9 inches of snow on Monday. It is melting fast so maybe this weekend?

Hey - me too (but Friday)! I'm taking Friday off to do some prep work to put our house on the market and on my list was to either 'clean out all closets' or 'clean out garden, greenhouse & prep for planting'. Since it looks like we might have good weather, the garden chores are moving to the top of the priority list!

We also desparately need to spray our fruit trees but we haven't had a single dry day since we got the copper sulfate (months ago!). Maybe Friday??

**tulip** · 03-23-2011, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by GLC1968

...I'm taking Friday off to do some prep work to put our house on the market ...

???Put your house on the market?

**BleeckerSt_Girl** · 03-24-2011, 06:59 AM

Yeah, like Tulip.... GLC- you are selling your homestead?

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