Spring Veggie Garden

It’s that time of year. Spring is here! It’s so exciting to feel the warmth and the light that has arrived. I am so happy for the renewal and the promise of long summer days. This is the time of year when all of the work of the winter dormancy comes to life! 

On the farm we are preparing our brand new 2500 SF veggie garden. In the depth of winter we filled the area with all of the leaf waste from Autumn. We spread all of that leaf mulch over the entire area and covered it in 15 yards of fresh compost. 

Then we added all of the dry amendments in February to let those soak in with the final winter rains. And now that spring is here, we have worked all of that into rows and stretched the drip irrigation down each row and we’re beginning to plant the rows with some of the cool season lettuce, broccoli and Swiss chard. We will direct sow carrots and onions and we may even get a row of seed potatoes panted in the next week if the weather holds. 

After we tilled the layers and mounded the rows we took a big tote and filled it with water and prepared a solution of Soil Love along with a bag of Bokashi and Bacillus bacteria to inoculate the beds. 

This is such a magical time of year to see all of the work that has been happening beneath the surface of the ground with the microbes the worms and all of the amendments that we have been working into the soil now ready to run the race of the growing season.

If you are preparing your vegetable garden—pots, boxes or beds—consider using a large trash or a 55gallon drum if you have it and fill it with with water. Mix in a container of Soil Love and inoculate your beds or pots along with a pre-mixed bacteria like Armory, Photosynthesis Plus or a simple compost tea bag.

This will aid in nutrient cycling and making nutrients available to your plants as they launch into the growing season. 

Enjoy the new season and happy gardening!