Scorching the Garden 2019 Part 4
Every year we grow the peppers and garlic and onions and herbs to make our sauces. Every year we try something new that we hope is better. We ditch something that doesn’t work out. And we repeat and refine those things that promote the completion of our goals. Follow along and steal all our ideas as we Scorch the Garden in 2019.
We are now officially in the best part of Stage 1: CARPETING THE GARDEN!
If you followed us last year or checked out our CARPET GARDENING GUIDE, you will see we take a different approach to our garden set up. This is the most labor intensive part of our whole system, short of cooking and bottling the sauces. We spend twice as long preparing the garden so we spend about a 10th of the time maintaining it.
We put up the fencing and began moving the equipment in. As of now, its just a lone rain barrel for plot 2, waiting for the catchers to be put up.
If you recall, we have the rain catching thing figured out. (see below)
We saved up a bunch of cardboard over the winter and FINALLY get to use them. We collected over 175 pieces which was almost enough to cover Plot #1. We are going to need about 200 more to finish this and Plot #B.
The bucket brigade starts once again. More than twice as many as last year, and just as heavy. Plot #1 is large enough for 100 plants with a few other areas for herbs and flowers. That’s at least 100 buckets of compost, weighing 35 lbs each for a total of more than a ton and a half of compost. It took more than 10 hours total to prep the first plot. We still need to put in the plants, finish topping everything off with more mulch, and then do it all over again to Plot 2, which is bigger.
Believe it or not, this is relaxing. Away from desks and traffic. All the fresh air and soil anyone could want. Sorta kinda too bad it’s only done to this extent once a season.
Before we transplant what we started from seed into the ground, we sprinkle 1/3 cup of a Mineral Meal Mix that we put together to make sure our compost mounds are getting a well-balanced diet.
The mix included, used coffee grinds, ground egg shells, sterilized chicken poop, Epsom salts, hardwood ash, and ground bones. Some of these are quick release, some slowly break down. Some are for the worms and microbes, some are for the plant. Its very important to feed both the soil and the plants.
