There's also one long bed, not really doing anything yet. I tried planting lettuce and other early greens after digging up the sod, but only ONE lettuce plant actually grew. Sheesh! I'm preparing to expand that bed. I got another load of horse manure today, and spread half of it along the rear edge of this long bed, basically doubling its width. After I plant the curcurbit cage (see below), I'll be working on this, digging the manure into the ground, and slowly making a nice raised bed about 20 feet long and 3 feet wide.
There's another depression in the ground here that I'm planting in. It's between the garage and the house. I cleared some weeds, planted some certified Maine seed potatoes, and covered them up with straw. Haven't seen anything yet there, but last year's potatoes (in Sherburne) took a while to come up. I'll continue filling the depression up with straw as they grow, and probably put a bunch of compost in to fill it up in late fall, after I've harvested the potatoes. I planted marigolds around the inside border, and chamomile outside the rock border, in the sandy soil there.
Finally, there's the cage. Early in the season, I planted some peas along the outside south edge of this 6'x8' cage that was originally set up there for the dog, I think. The peas are doing nicely, about a foot to 1 1/2' tall, and they are trained to the chain links. There are some carrots and beets planted in the same row, and there's a swath of straw mulch protecting the peas, creating a bed a bit over a foot wide for planting later in the season. It's bounded with some fairly regular rocks I've dug up.
Yesterday, I finished hacking the weeds on the inside circumference of the cage, and today I spread a layer of manure around this inside edge, covered with a light layer of peat moss. Tomorrow, I'll be bringing buckets of topsoil over, and making some hills for pumpkins, cucumbers, cantalope, more beans, and the pepper plants Hardy got. The center of this cage is empty so far, because most of the plantings are meant to grow up the fence. I'll be getting another bale of straw mulch on my way home for these plants and to get rid of the weeds in the center.
I haven't had much luck starting seeds early. Some catnip and purple basil might end up surviving...and the artemesia and valarian might live long enough to get in the ground, too. The local nurseries are making out well when I come over. ($95 of blueberry plants!)
Original plans: a purple-themed garden Echinacea -- on slope on far side of driveway Elderberry -- two, behind fence, in front of pines Blueberry -- five, along driveway behind fence Dill Peas Purple beans (or here Beets Red-leafed lettuce Purple Basil Chives -- already there Purple Cabbage Early Eggplant Dianthus (various) Cyclamen Hyssop In fall: plant early purple sprouting brocolli!
