Planting Day!!

So, Memorial Day Weekend is supposed to be "the" weekend that is reliably past the last freeze enough to plant your garden up here in Central Vermont. Prior to planting, Dave and I wanted to take advantage of the long weekend and took our first road trip since moving here. We did Portsmouth, NH (really just Smuttynose Brewery) > Ogunquit for lobster/clam belly rolls, ice cream and the Marginal Way > Old Orchard Beach for dinner, beach hangouts and arcade games > Portland for walking, coffee, breweries, minor league baseball and swimming in the surprisingly amazing heated outdoor pool at our cheap hotel.

When we returned to Randolph Monday afternoon it was HOT and we had to get planting.

The dirt patch had been quite neglected since we rototilled it the first time.

I won't say how long it took me to clear out, but notice the shadow difference...

Next step was spacing out the seedlings to make sure they had enough room. The weaker ones didn't make the cut. :(

Planting!

We planted some more seedlings in pots that my mom brought up. 

Grow! Grow! Grow!

Great day out in the yard. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with bourbon lemonades and grillables.

Plants we are growing in the ground: Black Krim tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers, eggplant, butternut squash, kale, spinach, green onions, and one lonely jalapeno plant that somehow is surviving when its seedling mates didn't even sprout.

Plants we are growing in pots: Zucchini, cucumber, bush beans, pole beans, tomatoes that didn't make the cut, and basil. 

Here we go!!

Plants Go To College

Since I posted last, I've started slowly repotting my seedlings into larger pots. Slowly, because I was afraid that I'd do it wrong and kill everyone at once. Instead, did a couple a day and watched them to see if the new soil killed them or if they suffered some other unforeseen consequence of change.

I started with the second most healthy ones and when they survived, moved on to most healthy. Then down the chain until I got tired of cutting drainage holes into Solo Cups.

Once I had a good amount of them into new homes, I started the process of "hardening off", putting them in the real world for a couple hours at a time. Then, Sunday May 15, I let them stay outside all day while I went to Waterbury to play disc golf. Of course, it hailed that day.

Somehow the seedlings were fine and I left them out one or two more days while I went to work. Then came this weekend where I would be going away for three full days. I kept the plants inside but SOAKED them with water. I came home on Sunday night and BLAMMY they were huge!

Look at these little kids, all grown up and drinking from Solo Cups (!!)

The interesting thing is that the seedlings that I left in the starter pack are still very much alive, they are just not getting any bigger. These two cherry tomato plants were planted on the same day and got the same water and same sunlight. 

I think there's a metaphor in here somewhere about how there's nothing like moving to a new place to grow, but that would just be entirely too relevant to the way I've been feeling lately.

Baby's First Day Out

I Get By With a Little Help from my Folks

This was a big week for my garden. Three things happened: 1) My parents arrived with tools, advice, and free labor. 2) I got my soil results back (so much phosphorous...) and 3) I signed up for a CSA just in case I don't get any vegetables.

My Dad and My Dave survey the land.

My parents now have two of their kids living within an hour of each hour so they can visit us on a Friday, Brian and Sarah on a Saturday and drive home on Sunday. They drove up Friday night and we grilled fish, drank wine, and had a very belated birthday cake for my Dad.

The next morning, we explored downtown Randolph a little more (there's not much to explore, but we did try out the couch in the coffeeshop instead of the chairs!) and then had perfect weather to get started in the garden.

Dave "supervising" Dad tilling.

My landlords had clearly started a garden and let grass grow over it, so that's where we decided to have our patch. My dad roto-tilled the patch while the rest of us did some heavy looking on.

My mom kindly donated many of her gardening tools to our garden and walked us through expanding it with a pitchfork. (When we were turning over the dirt soil there were tons of worms!)

Post-garden-expansion-weed-cleaning-up

Some backstory to gardening in my family. Both my grandfathers had major green thumbs, and my mother does as well. I got to see that bond between my Grampie and my mom when he would come to visit and they would tour her garden together.

My Papa (my mom's dad) grew up on a farm. My mom has great memories of visiting his farm when he was dating my Grammie. ("What's this cow's name?" "Bessie" "What's this one's name?" "Hmm... also Bessie") Then when my mom started her own garden, he did the same thing for her - passing on knowledge and helping out.

I'm really lucky now that my mom can do the same for me. 

My mom's garden was and is amazing. As I kid, I loved that while playing in the backyard, I always had access to snacks. Fresh cherry tomatoes and beans were refreshing treats. And chives always looked cool to chew on and spit out. I can't wait until I'm eating the same fruits of labor from my garden.

Victory! Garden!

Anywhoo, after a beautiful and dirty soily morning, we finally had a dirt patch! It's been a very rainy week since then and now it is sprouted with weeds. I know this means that I have a long summer of weeding ahead of me, but hopefully also means that the soil is super fertile.

Until next time, when I add Limestone to my dirt soil...

Earth Day

I approach growing my first garden with both a sense of bold optimism and a deep understanding that not a single vegetable will come out of this endeavor.

As is my nature, I often throw myself into something wholeheartedly that I may not have thought everything through beforehand. For instance, my initial step was to go to the store and buy ten different kinds of seeds, a potting tray, and soil. Then, I came home and read the gardening books and blogs that all recommended starting small.

My next step was to read the back of all the seeds to see which said to plant in the potter and fill up the thing with dirt and seeds. Then, I happily went along buying even more seeds (and being gifted them - Thanks Elliott!). A week went by until I read in my gardening book that I should have started three of my plants outside already.

But no matter, I will be growing a wild, diverse garden that may end in nothing more than someone else's compost. I would be fine with that, knowing that I had tried and at least spent a bunch of money and time along the way. I'd like to document this journey both for myself, and perhaps other first time gardeners.

I'm reminded of one of my favorite Wendell Berry lines:

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.

To Recap:

Saturday 4/9 (I think) - I planted in the seedling tray - two kinds of cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, jalapenos, eggplant.

Monday 4/10 - I root around in the dirt and pull up a seed to see what it looks like so far. A small tendril has started to unfurl itself from the seed. Pretty cool. Dave tells me to leave it alone. His patience is amplified by this ability to deal with my impatience.

Wednesday 4/13 - I awake to an exciting discovery. 

I actually gasped when I lifted up the cover (more on this later). I know that the seed is doing exactly what it's supposed to do when exposed to heat, water, and soil, but somehow this is still a magical feeling. This small, delicate seedling sprouted from the soil and was reaching for the sun.

Thursday 4/14 - When I had bought my seedling tray, it came with a black cover and a clear bottom water tray... I thought. I thought the clear water tray was to see how much water was dripping out and the black cover was to keep the heat in... well... nevermind what I thought, but boy was my face tomato red when I realized my plants weren't getting any sunlight....

Sunday 4/17 - I can't resist it and I buy more seeds. I dig up some of the extra seedlings and plant Black Krim tomatoes.

Thursday 4/21 - I read in a book that I should have started my butternut squash a couple weeks ago. I dig up some extra seedlings and plant butternut.

Friday 4/22 - I read in a book that I should have started my spinach already. I buy a plastic pot and plant spinach.

And now, I wait until next Friday when my parents will arrive with some gardening gear, and when I should have the soil test results back from the soil sample I sent to the University of Vermont. Then I'll know what I need to mix into my dirt patch and will have the tools to do so!

Until then ... look at these beautiful seedlings. Reaching, reaching towards a backyard that will soon be the place where they grow roots and then vegetables to feed me and my man. They have no idea what lies ahead of them only that they can see the sunlight and they want it.