Spring Plantings, Easy Cold Frames and Other Happenings

I'm happy to announce, Spring is here!  The air smells like poo and rotting vegetation, I can feel the sun through my eyelids and am loving it!

Plants are sprouting, tree leaves are opening and it has been warm enough at night to set out some plants.  We have not passed our last frost date as of yet, but I am assuming that if we do happen to get one, it will not harm the plants too much.  Everything is coming up fine, maybe a bit slow since we haven't had too many 70+ degree days, but they are getting noticeably bigger every day.  The plants in the house that I started in flats are anxious to let their roots roam free in the warm garden soil.  They will have to wait a short while longer but, soon baby plants, soon...

Earlier in the year, to get a jump start on Spring, I had constructed some cold frames to help warm up the soil and protect the seedlings from frosts.  Constructed from 1/2 inch PVC piping and 4 mil plastic sheeting (painters drop cloth), I easily and quickly made a very durable cold frame.  

What you need to build your own cold frame measuring approximately 2'x8' is:

• 1/2" PVC piping
• 1/2" PVC elbows (8)
• 1/2" PVC T connectors (10)
• Tools

1. Cut (8) 24" sections of pipe and (4) 20" sections 
2. Using elbow connector, attach (2) 24" sections.  Repeat 3 more times.
3. At opposite ends of elbow attach T connector, and span 20" section between.  Repeat 3 times.  
4. Cut (8) 6" sections and attach to open end of T connector.
5. For the spanning brace, cut (2) 20" sections of piping and (3) 32" sections.  Using the T connectors, attach the (3) 32" sections in a straight line.  At the ends, add on Elbow connector and from that attach (2) 20" sections. 
6. In the garden "plant" PVC arches in a straight line, 24" apart.  Place in the spanning brace along-side the arches, pushing down into the soil.  Where arches meet brace, tie together.
7. Unfold plastic sheeting, and with help, position over arches.  Weigh down edges of plastic however best works for you.  The plastic sandwiched between two pieces of board screwed together works nicely.  Remember to keep an end accessible for watering.  

Hopefully, those somewhat brief instructions are helpful.  It can be adjusted to any size to fit your needs.  Any questions, let me know.  

As of now we have the following plants sprouted and either living in the gardens or awaiting transplanting: 

-Arugula

-Bean, Dragon Tongue

-Beets

• Chiogga
• Golden

-Bok Choi

-Broccoli

-Chard, Neon Lights

-Eggplant

-Lettuces

• Bibb
• Mesclun Mix
• Romaine

-Mustard Greens

-Okra

-Onions

• Red 
• Shallots
• Green Bunching

-Peas

• Early
• Snow
• Snap

-Peppers

• Carnival Mix (sweet bell)
• Guajillo
• Hungarian Wax

-Radishes

• French Breakfast
• Red Globe
• Watermelon

-Spinach

-Tomatoes

• Red Siberian
• Yellow Pear
• Chocolate Drop
• Brandywine
• Speckled Roma

I'm sure I forgot something tucked away.  We have also set out most of the herbs we will be growing and have a lot more seeds that will be going in the ground.  

I'll try to post sooner, so to avoid such long ramblings.  

Happy Gardening!

Ready to Plant

Exhaustion and exhilaration.  Yesterday we had delivered about 2500 pounds of gravel, mulch, topsoil and compost to the driveway.  Unfortunately, the garden is in the back of the house.  While I was at work, Jason trucked compost and soil back to the garden all night.  It looks great!  

This is what we got, and most of what he hauled last night :

Today, after a final top-off into the garden, we went to work on our other plant beds around the house, extending some beds, just re-digging/mulching others.  Seven hours, twelve beds and a few blisters later, we are ready to dig in and start planting.  

            Vegetable Garden                                                          

Herb Garden

I will be starting potatoes, peas, onions, broccoli, lettuces, spinach and a few others sometime this week.  Cold frames will be going up, hopefully keeping out the frosts.  I will be updating with a specific list later this week.  Stop back for details.  

A Bit of Inspiration

Promised Pictures

Figured it out! 

#1 - Our almost blank slate.                                      

#2 - Starting to dig

                                       

#3 - Making some progress

 #4 - Done... kind of

Well, that's the end of the first step.  Now we need to finish digging it out, refill it with soil and compost and we are on our way!

Cart Before the Horse

We are officially vendors and the local farmers market.  One problem, we don't have a garden.  Yes, maybe we put the cart before the horse.  So, to remedy this possible error in judgement, this past Sunday we finalized our plans for the garden, an 8'x12' raised bed, and head off to Home Depot to get lumber.  An hour later we were back home, breaking out the shovels and pick ax and becoming frustrated quickly.  

Our house lies in a new subdivision in the outskirts of Columbus, OH.  When building the houses, the construction company stripped away all of the topsoil and trucked it out, I'm assuming to sell to topsoil companies.  Over the newly shorn land they laid sod.  

Sounds fine I suppose, if scalping the ground is okay with you, but what is underneath the sod is nothing but poor soil and rock.  So much rock that a shovel can only penetrate the earth about an inch and then come to a stop.  While this may be fun for rock collectors, I am not a rock collector.  

After a few hours with a pick ax, shovel, saws and screws we finished the frame to the garden.  Now all that awaits is our load of topsoil we are going to order.  Topsoil, that may have been in our yard at one time.  

One thing we didn't quite realize was just how sloped our yard was.  Since we wanted the garden to be level, it had to be dug out going up the slope.  In the end, one side is level with the ground, the other protrudes up 8 inches.  Now we need to finish digging out the middle, wait a week or so for soil delivery, fill the garden back up, and we'll be ready for the planting season.  

Pictures of the process will be coming soon, as soon as I figure out how to add them.  Stay tuned!

Yearning for Spring, our garden and our plans for the farmer's market

Oh, how I am yearning for the slightly acrid and pungent smell of wet, rotting leaves, shoes caked in mud, pop-up thunderstorms and mosquitoes.  No, I'm not crazy, nor a masochist, just one of the many lovers of Spring.  How I love her! I worship, on my knees, the feel of the warm rays of the sun upon my skin.  I crane my neck up into the sky to, with eyes closed, stare into the orange fiery orb, so bright I can see it's glow through the thin veil the skin provides.  I miss her dearly, and cannot wait for her return to my life.  Only a few weeks now, if I can manage to hold off the winter blues, the cabin fever, the hell of another 15 degree day.  

Okay, a bit melodramatic, but that is how I feel about spring.  There is nothing like stepping out the door early one morning after bundling oneself up, as is the fashion for the majority of the year in the Midwest, to realize that your small amount of exposed skin is not beginning to turn black with frost bite.  There is an odd smell in the air, and not of car exhaust streaming from neighboring driveways' pre-heating autos. The smell, not particularly pleasant but certainly welcome, is one of the earth thawing out; wet leaves, decomposing grass clippings and, depending on ones rural-ness, cow poo.  It certainly is one of my favorite times of year, one that I know will eventually come and one that, as with the asparagus, will be gone soon after showing up.  

Not is it only a end of that DREADFUL season called winter, but is also an ushering in of life.  I love to watch the tiny buds of the crab apple start to crack open and get fuzzy, as if they are opening the door to their panic room and sending out feelers to make sure it is okay to emerge with flowers and leaves.  Crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils poke their green shoots out from the recently frozen ground and I am amazed that something so delicate and beautiful can withstand such terrible conditions and survive.  I always think in spring that maybe we are the weak species.  Such strength, beauty and life force in something so small; I am envious.  

While every year I have my modest garden in which I plant a variety of vegetables, of which, most goes bad because I am feeding but a couple people or gets dumped onto other people, I thought that this year I would do things differently.  With the help of my partner, Jason, I will be scaling up the food production, not only having our home vegetable and herb gardens, but also renting 2 plots at our local community garden.  With so much space to grow, we have also signed up for a space at our local farmers market to try and see if a lot of time, a bit of money and responsible, organic and thoughtful gardening can turn into a hobby that not only makes us a couple dollars along the way but educates our community to the importance of buying local and in-season fresh fruits and vegetables.  

All spring and summer we will be getting up earlier than normal, hoisting on the dirty jeans and shoes and trudging out to the garden to pull weeds, squish bugs, water and harvest.  Every Saturday, starting June 13, from 9am-noon we will be selling our vegetables.  We hope that our hard work with inspire others to try the same thing.  Nothing helps a local economy more than it's residents making purchases from their neighbors, not a giant grocery store shipping in fruits and vegetables from South America.  We are not here to change the way the majority of Americans shop for food, but to let people in on a secret - local and organic fruits and vegetables are not only better tasting, but are better for you, less expensive than prepackaged and processed foods, better for the environment and helps keep local money in the local economy.  

We hope to see you on Saturday, June 13th for the beginning of the Jefferson Community Farmer's Market! Check back at The UKG for updates, recipes, ideas, tips and random summertime thoughts.  

Info:

Jefferson Community Farmer's Market

7494 Clark State Rd

Blacklick, OH 43004

June 13-Sept 26 2009

9am-12noon