Have box, will garden.

Last weekend, this garden took an integral step: the raised-bed garden box was constructed! Mel Bartholomew's method was not followed to a "t", but much fun was had and now I've got a box in which I will grow my vegetables.

I planned to do the project at my Dad's farm since he has all of the necessary tools and a work shop. The things are not available in my city apartment. Bob, my Dad and I ventured to the New Glarus Lumber Yard. New Glarus is "America's Little Switzerland" and is set in the rolling hills of southern WI. This is the part of WI where the glacier did not go. The lumberman cut the boards and the lathe to size for us. This lumberyard is a traditional lumberyard and is a far-cry from Menard's or Home Depot. The next day we finalized the construction plans and went to work.



We constructed two 4x4 beds out of 1" x 6" boards. The only particular thing about the wood you use is that it must be untreated. If it is treated, you may have chemicals leach into your plants...this you do not want. I got to use a wood chisel for the first time and that was pretty exciting. It was quite satisfying to construct these boxes myself and see the finished product. Next weekend, Bob & I will actually construct the boxes and fill them with dirt. Upon my return to St. Paul I saw the my peppers had sprouted! Now all of my seedlings are in full force. ur plot assignments at the garden have been made and I lucked out with a great plot.




Yesterday was a garden workday. About 12 of us gardeners arrived at the gardens at 9 AM ready to work. Our mission: put woodchips down on the paths in between the gardens. We also raked leaves and readied the garden for the compost to be delivered in the next week or so. Chives were in full force in many of the plots.

Small Package, Small Seeds

Monday morning I had a list of fun things to do on my day off. One of which was visiting the Mother Earth Gardens in the Longfellow neighborhood in Minneapolis. Mother Earth Gardens is a wonderful resource; here's what they say about themselves: "At Mother Earth Gardens we strive to provide you with beautiful plants and products, but a central part of our mission is also to choose plants and products that have been grown, produced and delivered in a sustainable manner."

It was time to get the supplies for starting my seeds indoors when they arrived. I arrived with my shopping list.

I set out to purchase:
1) Seeds for cilantro, basil and chives.
2) Seed starting soil.
3) Starter pots.

In talking with the very knowledgeable staff at Mother Earth Gardens, I learned some key information: I could start my herbs in the same pots I intended to grow them and to get the seeds to germinate and sprout into strong plants they need 16 hours of light. I needed to purchase a grow light. I turned down the offer of the grow light at Mother Earth Gardens and headed to the hardware store. This is where things got interesting. I went to the light aisle seeking a 24" fluorescent light fixture which I could easily hang and install grow-light bulbs in. The saleswoman assured me the fixture she was selling me wasn't that complicated and that I could handle it. I figured that it wasn't anything instructions and a phone call to my Dad couldn't get me through. Yeah, right! The fixture I purchased contained no cord to simply plug in, nor were the light sockets installed. It needed to be directly wired into something or other...this puppy was completely out of my league.

Back to the hardware store to get something less complicated. I found the perfect tool and installed it on the cart in our sun room. It did require me to use a drill, but no problem there.

The "Bergers OM 1" soil I got earlier that day needed to be moistened. I readied the herb pots with the help of my able bodied assistant, Mr. Mabel Boots.
After the herbs were ready to go the mail had come.
Our wonderful Mail person delivered a small padded envelope from Decorah, IA...some place called the "Seed Savers Exchange". At long last my seeds had arrived! The seeds for my tomato plants (two types), peppers and onions have been started in a biodegradable green house kit.
The best thing about that kit is that the starter pots can be placed directly into my Square Foot Garden.

I checked the seeds about every two hours yesterday. Nothing happened. Gardening doesn't lend itself to instant gratification. There should be some sprouts this weekend, though. My Peace Lily is finally blooming and my Christmas Cactus is having another run of blossoms.

Beets, Onion & Peppers- oh my!

My seeds are paid for and are en route from Iowa. I purchased heirloom seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange, a company founded in 1975. Their mission sums up their work like so: "Seed Savers' mission is to save the world's diverse but endangered garden heritage for future generations." Need I say more?

Here's a run down of the goods coming my way:

1) Early Blood Turnip (Beets)
2) Borehanna, Yellow (Onions)
3) Ancho Gigantea (Peppers)
4) Cherokee Purple (Tomatoes)
5) Cherry Roma (Cherry Tomatoes)

Saturday I continued with my reading of the Square Foot Gardening book. I mapped out my plot and now know that I have some extra room. In addition to the crops above, I'll have potatoes and spinach. Maybe one other crop as well.

Here's my square foot garden as I see it:

We are experiencing some beautiful weather here in St. Paul. It was 61 degrees fahrenheit yesterday. 99.5% of the snow is melted. This evening, I walked over to my plot to see how the garden looks not blanketed in snow. I'm happy to report that there is some action! Wood chips have been delivered. These will pave the aisles between the plots. I also discovered that my fellow farmers at the Oxford-Dayton Urban Farm employ the square foot gardening method too!




My seeds should arrive later this week. I intend to have the appropriate seeds started indoors before the Wisconsin Badgers Basketball team makes it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tourney. The others will go right in the ground when the time is right...I imagine after the final four sometime.

Garden Planning

As a small child my family always had a vegetable garden, it was huge! It yielded squash, swiss chard, beets, radishes, asparagus, pumpkins, eggplant, onions, peppers, corn, broccoli, cabbage and much more. Every spring my Dad would work on planning the garden by figuring out what he wanted to grow. Sometimes he would start the seeds in the house in wet paper towels until they sprouted and were ready for planting. Life in our household always required everyone to pitch in, life on the farm is that way. The garden was no exception. As the smallest I was elected to plant the onions in one straight row. I always hated it. For whatever reason, as a kid I wanted to be doing something else. Reading my Baby Sitter's Club books, watching "The Cosby Show", riding my bike or talking on the phone. Little did I know that by planting those onions, I was also planting a seed in me. A seed that's about to start blooming.

Last fall I read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Through this non-fiction work, Kingsolver and her family embark on a one-year journey through which they would eat only what they could grow or buy in-season locally. The story reminded me so much of my childhood when every summer we would tend the garden and then work like dogs in the hot heat of our kitchen (we never had AC) to can what we reaped. Throughout the winter and spring months, we'd eat what we canned.

Two years ago Kim and I did our very own canning. I now have all of the tools (canning kettle and utensils) needed to can 'til my heart's content and my pantry's full. My goals for the 10' x 12' plot: 1) Can enough tomatoes to last throughout the winter until next spring. 2) Get reacquainted with onion planting. 3) Have fun.


In the next couple of weeks I will order seeds and start them for my plot. My plot is part of the Oxford-Dayton Urban Farm in St Paul. It is about 3/4 of a mile from my house. Some of the seeds will germinate in the sunrooms in Bob & I's apartment. (See the photos.) Our deck (currently covered with snow) will host my herb garden in a box. In order to really be ready for the planting season I'm doing research about gardening. Luckily for me, my dear Aunt Mary is a Master Gardener. She has suggested Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Intend to employ Mel's method of raised bed gardening, likely in a 4' x 8' box that I'll build myself. Until next time...