Amendments

A little over a week ago, I finally made it to the garden center to see what I needed to add to my soil based on the test results I'd received.  The entire collection cost about $30.

The big one is peat moss, the smaller packages are Urea and Sulfur.  Coffee cup is optional.

Unfortunately, the only day that I could do this was pretty dry and windy.  Which meant rock hard soil and peat moss everywhere.  I followed the directions based on the size of our garden plot - 16 feet x 16 feet.  I scattered all 3 on top of the soil and then did my best to rake them into the top 1-2 inches.

The brown is peat moss, the Urea is yellow-ish flakes, and the sulfur is little white beads

This project took a little longer than expected.  I did one side at a time.  Here's the halfway point:

Makes the gray clay soil look downright sad, doesn't it?

It was so windy that when I finished I felt like I needed to water the whole thing down just so all my hard work didn't blow away.  The result:

Notice the garlic growing down the center! And the owl back at his post.

 So now I guess we just sit back and wait for a totally successful growing season?

the results are in!

...okay actually, it's been a few weeks since I received a thin envelope from Penn State with my soil test results.  You don't have to be a scientist to see that things are a little off...

My plan is to simply take this paper to the garden center and see what we need to get. 

Do I earn some points for guessing correctly about the pH? (even though my reasoning was a little off?)

Wanna be startin' something...

...and that something is seeds! 

This year I decided I'm going to try and start as many of my plants as possible from seeds.  Last weekend was quite busy, with plenty of assistance from one of my favorite helpers...

The catnip seeds have since been moved to a secure location.

The supplies for this project included those little peat pots you see in the background (I bought 100, which should actually be enough for next year too), a bag of "seed starting mix," and, of course, the seeds.  I chose these little pots because they are actually biodegradable and you can plant them right in the ground (or, alternatively, just lift the seedlings out... but at least you have the option of either).

Seed starting mix is a very lightweight topsoil - it is not expensive (I think my bag cost $3.99) but has the right nutrient mix for starting seeds.

In terms of seeds, I have to say I have no regard for what brand I purchased - I just chose varieties that looked interesting.
 

I planted 6 pots of each (except for the San Marzano tomatoes, which I planted 10 of, because they are my favorite), with two seeds in each pot.  I'd really like to make sure I have 2-3 viable seedlings of each.  And if I have too many - well, I am sure my friends and family wouldn't mind the castoffs (or, they will find a home in the compost pile!).  But better to be safe than sorry.

These seedlings will live on our enclosed porch where there is a lot of sun.  Last year I was able to grow some seedlings (not this many) out there with no added light.  Hopefully it will also work this year, and if not I can add a fluorescent light (but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it).

I did this year buy those clear lids to put over the trays - to create more of a greenhouse effect, especially when they are first starting to germinate.

One positive is that our porch isn't heated - which means the air will not be super dry.  One negative is that our porch is not heated - which means it may not be all that warm, especially on days when there's not a lot of sun.  You can sort of see in this picture in the left tray that I put a small glass of water in the middle - to provide a tiny bit of humidity.  I can also add a space heater when needed.

Another negative is that someone is really interested in this project.

He occasionally tries to be stealthy about it.

Some of Fernando's favorite things include: the porch, jumping on windowsills, looking out windows, and glasses of water.  A real recipe for disaster, but fortunately he hasn't learned to unlock doors yet.

PS: I need to make the addition here that I discovered after the fact that it is way too early to start cucumber seeds.  They only need 2-3 weeks of growing indoors before you put them outside in the ground, and they can only go into the ground when it is warm!  So... we'll see what happens.  I have plenty of seeds left and will just need to remember to plant a few new pots in late April/early May.

We found compost!

So it turns out that under the mountain in our backyard there is, in fact, compost!  We unearthed some this weekend.

As well as a collection of other items that would please any archaeologist (see the pile at the base of the tree below)

We spread just a small amount over one corner of our garden plot, but you can already see the difference in the soil below (this picture was taken post-raking and compost-adding, but we did not water it, despite how dark it looks).

Case file: Zucchini

I think I've cracked the case of the Huge Zucchini Plant with No Zucchini!

After many hours wasted looking online, watching videos about hand-pollinating zucchini, trying to hand-pollinate zucchini, and then having no other option but to blame and bemoan the state of the dwindling bee population... it turns out the culprit all along was my soil!

The soil I had so industriously and regularly supplemented with 10-10-10 fertilizer may actually have had perilously high nitrogen levels, which prevent the formation of fruit!  (learned in my gardening class, supported by multiple Google searches)  Huge leaves, but no fruit.  Two summers in a row.  Two summers of the same fertilizer, industriously and regularly applied.  Two different zucchini transplants, two others planted from two separate packets of seeds...  and when they weren't growing, I added more fertilizer.  The common denominator?  The soil. 

Step one is not adding any more of that 10-10-10 fertilizer!  Then checking the results of the soil test to see what other things I may need to do.  My hypothesis at this time is that the pH of my soil is high, which would indicate high nitrogen levels (I think). 

More on compost.

I realize there are only so many times a person can mention "compost" either in conversation or on a blog, before losing the interest of the listener/reader.  I know I am either over or dangerously approaching my limit.  So I'll step off the soapbox in the very near future, I promise.  But not before imparting a few more kernels of wisdom.

1.  I received some great advice from a friend regarding my makeshift compost heap.  Soon we will be adding a plastic sheet between the compost and the wall of the garage, to prevent any staining or seepage from the pile of rotting stuff currently leaning against it (thanks, Alice). 

2.  But, we won't have to worry about it for long, because that location is temporary!  I learned of a program in my county where if you attend a workshop about composting, you then have the option to buy a pretty huge compost bin for only $50.  So, yay Northeast Ohio for encouraging this practice, and yay for me who will soon get a deal!  (although I think we'll have to keep up the orange bucket system, since I don't really want the big compost container right by the house)  I am currently leaning towards the "Dirt Machine," what do you think?

Soil testing, 1...2...3...

This year is the first time we will be getting our soil tested.  This is important for any successful garden, and to be honest I just never knew how easy and cheap it is.  Particularly because we had a... challenging season last year, I'd like to know if there are any changes we can make.  The steps to doing this are pretty simple:

1.  Visit the Penn State Soil Lab website (yes, there are others out there; this just happens to be the one I am using)
2.  Download the relevant forms
3.  Follow instructions for taking soil samples.  Basically, for each garden plot you'd like to have analyzed, you take twelve small scoops of soil (see the link for more details).
4.  Combine the samples (see my bucket, pictured above).
5.  Spread out on a sheet of cardboard to dry for a day or two.

6.  Follow directions to mail in sample.  Results take a few weeks to receive.

The results will tell you the pH of your soil; depending on the result, there are different amendments you can make to get your soil to the ideal pH.   More on that when my results arrive!

Dirt

Looking at this makes me realize we must be getting a good mix of vitamins from this very multi-colored food assortment!

Last year I started to have some concerns about our soil.  I wish I could say that this was based on something scientific, or the result of an actual soil analysis... but really, it was because our soil is not black.  It is mostly brown.  Every spring we rake the heck out of it, add the 10-10-10 fertilizer that some book told me to add, in an amount roughly equal to "part of a coffee cup," and for a little while it looks like soil.  But shortly thereafter, it just looks like...dirt.  I don't know what a botany textbook would tell me, but I think there is a difference between soil - the healthy, black stuff that makes plants grow, and dirt, which is what gets stuck to your shoes. 

Back at it!

There is something about February, especially late February, that is just...awful.  The shortest month sure does seem to go on forever, doesn't it?  And while March in Northeast Ohio is no picnic, there's a lot to be said for turning the calendar page to the month where spring does officially start.  With that comes the hope that, okay, maybe I will not be wearing a down parka every day this month.  Maybe this month I won't regularly get caught in blizzards while on the way to work (although it is actually quite possible this will still happen).  Maybe my car will look its actual color, rather than chalky salty gray.  And maybe, just maybe... I will plant something!

To kick off the return to blogging, and the return to gardening, I'd like to share my to-do list for this month:

1. Attend gardening class. This, my friends, is awesome.  A series of 5 workshops entitled "Home Grown Food," hosted by one of the local public libraries.  Week 1 was 90 minutes on just soil, and I was captivated.  You don't know what you don't know until someone tells you that you don't know it.  This is doing to be a valuable endeavor, and I look forward to sharing.  If you are local and interested, it looks like there are still some openings.

2. Compost.  Compost.  Compost.  I'm working on my own (more on that in a future post) but this year we probably need to buy some.  Can you believe we've never added this to our garden?  Anyway, I am hoping to buy and spread that this month (a girl goes to one class about soil and now wants to buy a truckload of rotten stuff... go figure).

3.  Peas!  My new favorite vegetable to grow.  And along with the purchase and planting of pea seeds, I need to get some better stakes, now that I know how these things grow!

4.  Greens!  My new second favorite vegetable to grow.  Kale, spinach, lettuce, swiss chard... they can all be started early, and I am excited to do so.

5.  Investigate some organic (aka "safe") pest control options.  Especially if I want to grow leafy things (and I do), I need to better protect them.  The hot pepper spray did not cut it last year.  I look forward to learning about this in my class, and also seeing what the garden stores offer.