We start our Spring gardening in the fall of the year before. We have been successful growing garlic and very successful growing grass where we don’t want grass, so we are trying something new that we saw on the internet. We are limiting the space that grass can grow and I will just show you some pictures of what we are trying.
We covered the entire area with weed control paper, then used a small torch to cut uniform holes for the garlic.
We completed the patch in October before the snow came. By the last of November the snow covered the small shoots that came out soon after planting. We have lots of strong wind so we used the stakes to hold the paper in place. In the past, we used wood chips but eventually the grass grew in the wood chips and it cost more with the wood chips.
This is a picture of the garlic in April of this year. It has been in the ground since last October and will be ready to harvest in early summer. I still have some grass pulling around the plants, but no hoeing is needed; in fact, don’t even cut in that hole because you will cut the future garlic head that has stayed under a blanket of snow for 3 to 4 months. I enjoy hoeing, but my back doesn’t enjoy it, so I try to stay away from hoeing.
Next is the greens that we started in the greenhouse last fall. I waited too late in November so the plants didn’t have time to get established before the cold came. They didn’t die in the greenhouse with extra covering over the box inside but they didn’t grow until early spring. Now we are picking fresh greens.
Ancient wheat grain is up. This will not make enough for baking bread, but we will save the seed for next year’s crop. We purchase the organic Non-GMO ancient grain for whole wheat bread.
Green peas are up and growing
Time to plant potatoes – these were the little ones left over from last year’s crop – they sprouted in the box.
This small greenhouse is used for planting and propagating. If we are expecting a cold night, we turn on a red light hanging in the smaller greenhouse in the back. The picture on the right is propagating Rosemary. I took small branches from the larger plant to make more plants. On the cut end, I stuck it in honey, then into ground cinnamon that stuck to the honey. Placed the cutting into the pot of dirt and packed the dirt just a little around the cutting.
This area below the greenhouse and garlic is for the propagated plants. The first row near the garlic is Elderberries, the second row is Blueberries, the third row is seedling pine trees that I found growing in my flower garden, the fourth row is Strawberry plants, and the fifth row is Thornless Blackberries. This is a new project that we will be adding more things propagated.
There is more to come, but this is enough for now.
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