Gardens

We've been preparing for next year's garden plots. The farm already has 7 raised beds that are 4' x 8', and a raised bed that is 4' x 4'. This year, those raised beds have been providing tomatoes, peppers and squash. Next year these will be my herb beds providing medicinal and culinary herbs aplenty.


We've also selected a 40' x 45' area for the vegetable garden next year. The area is slightly sloping, which will be excellent for drainage. We laid down some black plastic to "solarize" the area and kill off any grass and weed seeds that may be lying dormant. I realize this will also nuke the biodynamic ecosystem of the garden, but I'll build that back up by tilling in the fall, creating pseudo-raised beds (really just "trodden paths"), a winter coat of straw and a very liberal application of excellent goat shit compost in the spring. Then we won't need to till in the spring, just move the straw aside, rake in a couple inches of compost and tuck the seeds in. This will allow us to get a bit earlier start in the spring because we won't have to wait for the earth to get dry enough to work. Then, with an earlier spring garden we can have an earlier fall garden as well and get two harvests from the same plot. That's the plan anyway, we'll see how much Mother Nature needs a laugh.

I already have next year's seeds ready, so I can provide some additional stratification for extremely early crops on those seeds I need to, along with row covers and cold frames if I'm feeling frisky come March. I've chosen mostly heirloom seed varieties so I can "harvest" the seeds from next year's garden to use the following year.

Following is a boring list, in no particular order, of the seeds I'll be planting. This is for my own records, so feel free to stop reading if you like! :)

Canteloupe (hybrid, Hale's Best Jumbo), an F1 hybrid Brussel sprout variety, "Oliver", Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Echinacea purpurea, Green Oakleaf lettuce, Medinah bush snap beans, Buckwheat, Winter Rye, Calendula "Alpha", Chickweed, Magical Michael Basil, Round Chioggia Radicchio, Omega Flax, Saltwort, Wonder Light heirloom Tomato, Matt's Wild Cherry tomato (total hybrid, but I love it so), Prudens Purple heirloom tomato, Di Cicco Broccoli, Hybrid White Titan Cauliflower, Amour pickling cucumber, Chiogga beets, Red Butterhead fireball lettuce, Thai Magic Basil, Flowering tobacco (for fragrant flowers - probably in a bed by the house), Clary Sage, Borage, Stinging Nettle, Red Sweet Watermelon, Green Summer Crisp lettuce, Anuenue lettuce, Mammoth Red Clover and Northstine Dent Field Corn.