Little beds and larger beds

Small beds in front of the house

The idea of having some little vegetable beds in front of the house has gotten going.

George has been looking after the bed on the left in the picture.   The bushy-looking plant is horseraddish, which he planted.  In the fall, the horseraddish will be dug up, and garlic will be planted.

Today, George and I added a small raised bed (4 x 8).  George built the frame, mostly of cedar, and it is pretty.

I dug down inside the frame, and added some lime and rock phosphate.   George added all the vegetable peelings, egg shells, and coffee grounds that we've been saving the last three weeks.  Then, I put down a temporary weed barrier of hay sections.  We're going to use this little raised bed for the rest of the season as a compost pile, then see what we still need to add in late fall.   The goal is to have a little bed where we can grow some lettuce and spinach in the early spring, under a low tunnel, before it is possible to get into the larger in-ground beds to the side of the house.

Bed #1, looking toward other beds

I also started bed #5 today, which is one of a series to the side of the house.   In the picture above is part of bed #1.  Bed #2 can be seen beyond, and bed #3 runs along the fence at the back of the picture.    Beyond the fence, in an area of the pasture we've been mowing the last 5 years, are beds # 4 and #5.   New bed #5 is unusual in that it is only one width of the tiller wide:  6 feet by 61 feet.   Have a feeling that bed # 6 may be similar but over a bit.   I like grass paths.

What about weeds from hay mulch?

A lot of on-line gardening resources recommend using straw rather than hay for mulch in a garden because of potential weed problems.  I wanted to say a word about that.

Hay growing.  June, 2008

 "Straw" is what is left when the seed head is removed from grains.   So, there is oat straw, wheat straw, barley straw, etc.   Maine doesn't grow much grain, although some determined folks are trying to address that, which is good.   Maine does grow a lot of hay, and people have been using hay in their gardens here for a long time.

Straw may contain seeds from the grain crop or weeds, but there usually should not be much.

"Hay" may include very little seed or a lot, or something in between.   Hay can be made up of very few plant species or many, depending on the type of hay, how it was managed, the time of year it was cut, and the field or even the part of the field from which the hay came.

Hay is usually less expensive than straw in Maine, at least when bought from the farm.

If a good, very deep hay mulch is used in a garden, it will smother most weeds.   I used a deep hay mulch in a garden I kept years ago, because it reduced the amount of time I spent weeding.

Not all hay is the same in terms of seed load.   If you are looking ahead to the day you might remove the mulch and want to garden without it, or turn over the ground in a wide area, then it makes sense to pay attention to the seed load in the particular hay being purchased.

Hay cut very early in Maine, such as in May, will usually have relatively little seed.   The seed hasn't had the opportunity to mature yet.   All other things being equal, May hay is often also higher in protein and more expensive because of its value for feed.   But, it still may be less expensive than straw, and is likely to be locally grown.

The earlier a "first cut" (first cut of the year) occurs in a given year, the lower the seed load.   A good "second cut" from the fall will also likely be lower in seeds.   Less second cut is available than first cut, because some acreage is only hayed once a year.   Second cut hay tends to be more expensive than first cut unless it is being sold as mulch hay.

If you talk to the local person who actually grew the hay, then he or she can tell you approximately when the hay was cut.    If a lot of people in an area brought in first cut hay late in a given year, so you can't find earlier cut hay, it is likely because weather conditions did not allow an earlier cut that year.

Hay is a standard garden mulch in Maine, and it can work well.   Expect to pay a bit more attention to it than to very clean straw, but expect to buy local and pay less.     

In the garden, add more hay mulch to thin spots when you notice them, such as where a weed pokes through, and add a new thick layer of mulch in the spring.  

Note:  we sell hay, although mostly feed rather than mulch hay.   Some of the mulch hay is bought by folks with gardens.   Fun reading:  "Ruth Stout's System", Mother Earth News (2004).

Update

George and I started haying later than we ever have, with a very wet June moving into a very hot July.   But, there is now feed hay in the barn for sale.   Whoo hoo!

The garden is doing pretty well in spite of the weather.

Potatoes, bush beans, onions....

I used more mulch hay in the garden this year than in the past, and will see how that goes.  Used it in paths, and for the potatoes.

Most of the squash plants have been having a rough time with cucumber beetles this year.  But, the zucchini below got to spend time under insect netting.

Zucchini

 The nasturtiums are pretty, even before the flowers come out.

Nasturtiums

Spider and Ruth at Side of the Road Farm in Brewer, Maine have begun a blog.  Please check it out!   Spider has a big garden and farm stand, and has helped me with advice and encouragement.

Bit of hay

Looking toward small cut area (just beyond small tree)

It would be great to cut some hay in May, but our field's heavy clay soils rarely are dry enough for heavy equipment in May.

George and I would like to get most of our first-cut haying done in June...or maybe by the end of the first week in July.   This was a very wet June, so no hay.

On Friday, there was a 40% chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday night.  Normally we would never cut hay with that kind of forecast.   But, there was nothing better in the 10-day forecast and...this is getting nuts.

So, we cut a small area.    We like to do a small initial cut, because it gives us a chance to check out the equipment. 

Chances were we wouldn't get this first bit of hay in given the forecast, and if we did it would be only good for mulch.

George and I got very lucky, it never rained, the humidity today was low, and we go in a little feed hay today, Sunday.   That is a short curing period, and we needed to ted they hay twice to help the drying along.

Not much brought in, but if it stays good, it will be part of the hay for the sheep next winter.   Well, maybe.   When I cut the ground was softer then I like due to recent rain, so I have to hope the hay doesn't go musty.   Those are the risks.   I think it will be ok.

Rain and yellow jackets

 Potatoes and beans in bed #2

Sixth wettest June on record in Maine, according to a recent article in the Bangor Daily News.   Probably a lot of gardeners read the article emphasizing the effect of all the rain on gardens and thought "Oh, whew, it isn't only me!"

The broccoli and onions here are loving the gray weather.   The tomatoes, not so much. 

I've never used row covers before, having always managed without them.   Yesterday, George made hoops and now the cucumbers and zucchini are covered.    I also planted some radishes to try to lure some of the bugs away from the other squash.

There are too many bugs on the squash seedlings this year.  

Nest

 Speaking of inspects, these yellow jackets are making a home on one of the flower hooks on the front porch, right near the front door.   George noted that they are interesting to watch.

This nest is going to get a lot bigger.   We can avoid it, but maybe visitors here won't.    It may have to go, while it is still small.  

Then again, we could put orange tape around the front porch, and use the side entrance until fall.  Less hassle than row covers, probably.

Last summer we had one of these nests over the door to the garage where we keep the farm tractor.    It was a big nest, and was just above where we drove the tractor in and out.    The tractor is very noisy, and there is lots of activity around that door.  But, the insects never bothered us.

Easier to take on cucumber beetles than yellow jackets.   Decisions, decisions. 

Hoeing and mulching

Broccoli

I had to stop weeding last year due to an injury, and there is a massive amount of weed seed in the garden.   The sensible thing to do would have been to turn it all under and plant a couple of green manures this year, but we need the veggies.   So, I'm spending a lot of time hoeing and mulching.

I still don't know if the lambs quarters (a weed) are going to win.   So far, they are sitting up in the gallery and laughing at me.   They have high, squeaky voices, and are getting on my nerves.

A friend noted that the lambs quarters are edible.   They should try to remember that.

Part of bed #1

Bed #1 - broccoli, onions, rutabaga, beets, cucumber, lettuce, etc.

Part of bed #2

Bed #2 - potatoes, beans, some squash, more onions, etc.

Finds

 (1)  Pollen deposited at the edge of a dried up puddle.

(2)  Antler found buried in the ground in a corner of the pasture. 

(3) Golf ball found way out in the middle of the pasture. 

Hmmmm.....neither George nor I play golf!

Garden update

Beds # 1 and #2 with recently added mulch

We had a couple of days without rain before yesterday.   The veggie beds were too wet to plant on the first day, and marginal on the second.  With more rain in the forecast, I planted yesterday anyway.

Only could work about 2.5 hours.   During that time, I put in some more onion seedlings, all the winter and summer squash seedlings, rutabaga seeds, and a bit of onion and spinach seed.   Then, I cut and added more grass clippings for mulch.

Roses on the front lawn

I had to quit because my shoulder hurt too much.  Shoot.   Would have been nice to get in the rest of the onion seedlings.   But, I'm more worried about finishing up the old sheep (shearing, etc.) now that my shoulder is sore.   Maybe will be better tomorrow.

I shear the sheep by hand, a little at a time, since there are only two old sheep here now, a ewe and a wether.   It isn't difficult, unless have a sore shoulder.   I work on them early in the morning, while it is cool.   Most of the wool is off their backs and sides now, so they are not too hot.

The remaining ewe is chronically lame, and short of breath, so I only do a very little with her at one time.   She has not gone off her feed.

I had planned to put this ewe down last fall, but then the other ewe got killed by coyotes.   So, that left only two sheep, one ewe and one wether.  Need to figure out how to handle the last wether this fall.

I don't want to put down the ewe and leave him alone, as sheep do not do well alone.  But, I don't think this ewe will make it through another winter. 

For all her maladies, the ewe is patient and easy to handle.   Her name is Sparrow, and she was one of a set of triplet ewes from a tall and patient ewe named Chloe.  Chloe loved to eat dandelions.

The roses bloomed yesterday.

After Andrea rain

Nice to have the storm clouds pass.

Checked the vegetable beds.  The broccoli and onion seedlings seem fine, although I'm still glad I held back on getting in the rest of the onions, in favor of putting down more mulch. 

The second picture is the area with the potato seed.  Last year, I dug the potato trench across the slope, using a deep trench, and got flooded. This year, used a shallow trench with mulch, and ran it down a very slight slope.   There is no standing water over the potatoes this time. 

Almost all  the mulch we use is produced here, and sometimes the timing can get dicey.   There are times of the year when we have a lot of hay, and times we don't.   In spring, I like to do about 3 mowings in the lawn and equipment areas, and get past dandelion seed season, before collecting any grass clipping for the vegetable beds.

Just before this storm, I was trying to mow around the last of the dandelion seed heads, moving rather quickly.   I warned George that my mowing pattern might look a bit odd.

Just have to pretend that those remaining patches are fancy landscaping.

Remnants of Andrea

Knowing we were in for a lot of rain today, most of the time yesterday was spent cutting and spreading grass mulch.   I managed to get the grass catcher on the John Deere by myself, but was glad George checked it.

The potatoes were already under hay mulch, as was vegetable bed #4.    I had started planting, but not enough to hold on to soil.

At the end of the day, all the flat surfaces had some kind of physical barrier to hard rain drops, even if pretty thin.    I stopped as the first drops fell, so didn't get a picture.

The picture at left is from June 4th, just after the second tilling (for weeds), and before any mulch was spread.   The view is to the south/south-east.

Beds # 1, 2, and 3 are shown, with #1 being closest to our house in the distance.   I took the picture next to bed #4, which is in the old pasture.

The green area between beds #1 and #2  is a wide and shallow swale (depression that drains down hill).   We leave this area in permanent grass, because of the heavy clay soils.  The green area in the foreground also stays in grass, because it has some large rocks just under the grass and a couple of young oak trees.

The second picture is of bed #1, just after tilling.   This shows more clearly that the bed is slightly raised, from added organic matter.

West of the beds, a small drainage area runs along the pasture fence, so we aren't likely to expand the beds in that direction.  Bed #3 could be lengthened going east, but that area will probably have a separate small bed for more blueberries.  I prefer to make any more room for vegetables out in the old pasture. 

I like having vegetable beds surrounded by plenty of green buffer area.   The buffer areas reduce stormwater runoff, lower the risk of creating erosion ditches in the clay soils, and help water quality.   Ideally, I like short mowed areas right around the beds, for better access, and longer grass beyond that, to slow down stormwater.

The buffer areas will certainly get a lot of water from Andrea.