Saturday, November 14, 2009

The Veg Bed


Last weekend Chloe, Marco, and I put together a raised vegetable garden.  We filled it with, what felt like, a ton of soil.  About 1 1/2 cubic yards, actually.  It was a mixture of organic soil and organic compost.  Mixing it all up was quite the workout!  I really wanted to go completely organic, but the plants were sitting right there in front of me at the nursery and I was dying to see something in the dirt, so I just bit the bullet and bought them.  They aren't organic plants, grown from organic seed, but they are in organic soil and I won't be feeding them any chemical fertilizers.  


I have a small bin with soil, dried leaves, and kitchen scraps.  I've mixed it all up and covered it up with plastic so it can "cook" for the winter.  (An experiment complete with gnats!)  The hope is that it will turn into beautiful dark, rich soil I can use in the bed.  Next, a vermiculture!  Oh, I also have carrots, beets, basil, bok choy, and spinach seeds on the window sill.  They should be ready to plant outside in a few weeks.  I plan to have my second raised veg bed ready by then.

I think I overdid it with the plant buying, since we had to takeover a patch by the bedroom backdoor.  The soil has a ton of clay, which we mixed with soil from the bed, so it'll be interesting to see the difference , if any, in size, appearance, and flavor of the veggies.  Now, it's just a matter of keeping them watered, covered for the frost, and protected from the dog.

Oh yes.  Lulu has rediscovered her favorite past-time.  I thought she had past this phase years ago, but I guess you can't teach an old dog... well, you get it.  The veg beds are now covered in a plastic mesh to deter Lulu from digging them up.  So far, so good.  (But this is getting expensive!)

So, the veg should be ready to harvest by January, maybe a few things by Christmas, fingers crossed.  That's when I plan to start some plants from seed, tomato, zucchini, bells, and more.  I'll be trying out some organic seed from Burpee or The Seed Savers Exchange.  I can't wait to taste it all!

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