The garden is doing pretty well. Only a few losses – a green bean plant that got fried before I ever planted it, some weak cantaloupe seedlings, etc. No big loss as I have others.

I’m posting some more garden photos today!

Yesterday, I planted three tomatillo plants given to me by our friends Kathi and Everardo. I’ve never eaten them before, but I found some good recipes!

I just planted some turnip and beet seeds in a nicely tilled (by hand) area of about 2 x 8. We’ll see how they grow. I haven’t had good luck with root crops… but maybe this is the year!

I put the Quantum mixture on the new plants and seeds areas, as well as the upside down tomato plant (in an old watering can) and the garlic  – the areas I missed last time.

I also fed some chopped up lettuce and cucumber peels to the worms. Got to keep them fed!

Today I planted my three cantaloupe seedlings, two lettuce seedlings and 16 green been seeds, all with some vermicompost just under the soil.

I also started using Quantum Growth today – it’s an organic soil amendment / enhancement liquid that I got from the good people at GreenEarthAg.com. It stinks!  But you only use 2 oz. to a gallon of water and it’s supposed to do amazing things for your plants – encouraging greater root growth, healthier plants, and higher yields.

I also need to buy some hay from a local farmer to use as mulch to keep the weeds down and the moisture in. It should also help me see where my actual paths are through the garden. I almost stepped on my one parcel seedling several times it’s so tiny!

Almost done planting the garden. I have several more plants to plant and seeds to sow but I’m getting there.

First of all, the second bin fits inside the first bin completely, so it rests on top of the contents of the first bin — so my question about how the worms climb up to the 2nd bin when the  contents of the first bin keep dropping is answered.  No problem there.

Second, worms love lentils! When I lift the 2nd bin up to get a look at the 1st bin, there are tons of worms right on top – looks like they’re enjoying the lentils and are multiplying like crazy!

Third, I could have easily taken the good vermicompost out of the 1st bin to use, but since I piled all that new food in there, I should wait till more is converted to vermicast before I try to harvest it. I can’t bear to disturb the worms – they just look like they’re in heaven!

I did, however, take the finished compost from my outside compost pile and use it to top dress the peas and garlic in the garden. I just dumped some compost around each plant, not too thick, before a rain so the nutrients will start to leach into the soil and benefit the plants. It was the first time I’d used compost from my own compost pile so it gave me a thrill to know that my composting endeavor is really working!

Meanwhile, inside, sprouts are sprouting – we have lettuce, broccoli, pumpkins, zucchini, basil, a few chives, and more coming up finally inside. Still waiting for rosemary, green beans, cucumbers, etc. I’m trying to get the garden ready – did some more weeding today. I’m trying not to rototill or dig too much as they say it disturbs the beneficial insects, bacteria, etc in the soil.

Pea plant May 6, 2010

And I started some garlic last year from tiny garlic pods that Raye Hodgson gave me at last year’s Seed Exchange. They apparently need one more year to get to normal size but the greens have been usable since last year.  I didn’t chop off the yellowing leaves last year so the green is coming through them now.

garlic plants waiting for next year