Yesterday and today I prepped several more beds - now only the tomato/bean bed needs to be turned over. I go over the entire bed once with a garden fork, then add compost and turn it all over again, removing the uprooted weeds as I go. Laborious, but good exercise!

Also today, I sowed beet seeds and planted shallot bulbs.

Pea planting

Today I prepared a bed for peas and sowed the first two 4' rows. I am planting the same peas I planted last year: "Oregon giant" snow peas from Renee's Garden. I worked a few cups of wood ash from our fireplace into the soil to raise the pH - not sure if this will help or not. I plan to co-plant corn in this plot later in the spring.

Today was fence-repair day. Two sides of my plot were bordered by some sad-looking chicken wire, so I replaced those sides with 28" rabbit fence. Also, I marked out my beds, worked compost into the greens bed, and transplanted six romaine seedlings and six spinach (purchased from a nursery). I will try to get a diagram of my garden up soon.

A New Year

Well, we're well into 2009 now, and I'm resurrecting this blog as a garden diary (rather than keeping notes on little pieces of paper scattered around my desk!). I am planting many of the same vegetables this year, with a few new ones. Today, I started seeds: Diamond eggplant, Romanesco broccoli, and parsley. I actually have three parsley plants growing right now in the garden, from seeds that didn't germinate last year! The plants I'm starting today will fill in that patch.

Romanesco broccoli is a fractal food, and tastes good, too!