January 29, 2017
The garlic came through being under snow for a week like a champ. They just laid down and grew sideways. They are upright now and dark green, crisp and stout. The onions are still pale and pathetic. I'll sprinkle some ammonia nitrate on them and they should green up. I just use about two handfuls per ten square feet, not enough to burn the earthworms but enough to help the onions..
I used to think that any amount of inorganic fertilizer was bad for the soil but have learned that a judicious application to the onion patch helps them along. I usually use fish emulsion, which is far better for the soil, but the ammonia nitrate jump starts them like a bit of a shock. The fish emulsion takes awhile and lasts awhile, helping the soil organisms to aggregate the soil particles and improve tilth, so it's the work horse of the garden. I use about a gallon a year..
January 30, 2017
My Fall planting of beets got to about 3" diameter before the cold weather stopped their growth. Then the snow covered them and they took a nap. Now that the sun is back their leaves are perking up and the birds are eating them. They overwintered well. I'll plant the spring row about a foot away from this row in late February so I've prepared the ground with some compost..
I looked at the broccoli row next to it and realized I should shift that row over a foot also. All my cruciferous plants could get a one foot shift in their rows since I can't actually rotate them. The club root disease that I read about can prohibit you from planting anything in the garden for years, so I need to stop playing Russian roulette and get serious about moving my plantings as much as possible..
February 01, 2017
Tiny white flowers are blooming in the fields. Shooting star leaves are poking up through the pine needles. Lupine are coming up under the oak trees, and watercress is in the hollows. The earth has spoken. Winter is over. The soil is warming, so no matter what the weather does, spring is moving in..
I got my peas planted today. I plant a row on each side of the trellis and let them grow up together. The trellis is positioned on a north south axis so the vines on each side will get a half day of direct sunlight. I also plant double rows of beets. The shade from one row slows evaporation from the soil next to the other row, and you can water both rows down the middle..
