The last weekend of May is our earmark to get the kitchen garden in the ground. For the last week, we have been working the soil, digging weeds, and carting rocks. This morning we were blessed with a soft soaking rain. Already the seeds are springing to life.
Each year we make a few changes out in the kitchen garden. By rotating vegetables from one location to another, one plant may take something out of the soil and another may put it back. More importantly, we rarely have problems with bugs or undesireable funguses that plague other gardeners. We don't use weedkillers of any kind aside from a shovel and some elbow grease. Although at this time we are not organic certified, we do make an effort to grow our crops and trees in as pure an environment as we can.
There are many tools available to the home gardener. Some are expensive. Some not so much. Personally, I am currently infatuated with the online garden planning tool available from Mother Earth News: http://gardenplanner.motherearthnews.com/gardenplanner/gardenplanner.html. If you have limited space or resources, this tool helps one determine garden layout, how many plants to plan for, and what companions are best for those plants selected (think: tomatoes love marigolds).
In the coming weeks, we'll talk a little about the garden. We'll discuss what is growing and I'll try to give you a few tips on what we've learned to hopefully give you a hand.
