Raising Beds

Raised the sides of beds 1 and 2 today, though still some work to be done as the old beds weren't even for their 18' length.  Bed 1 is starting to get into condition.  Weather has been above normal all winter-- the degree days are about 500 below normal (20 percent) .

Miscellaneous--Status

Finished bed I spading.  Thought I could work the soil this morning, but the low was below 32 so the clumps were still frozen.  Lisa has leeks, radicchio, mustard, kale, and collards in the garden.  About a week ago she started geranium and impatien and cabbage seeds.  Planning to buy red cabbage seedlings if hers don't sprout.

Got 4 bleeding hearts today from Merrifield, as well as onion sets.  Could have gotten caladiums, etc.

Soil Tests August 2010

From Aug 2010
Q1  needs nitrogen and sulfur  PH was 7.6
02  PH 7.3  needs nitrogen,  no sulfur
03 PH 7.5  needs sulfur and 10-10-10
04  PH  7.6 needs sulfur and  nitrogen
01  PH 7.4   needs 10-10-10

lawn  6.4  turf type fertilizer

Need to do soil tests again.

First Work in Feb

Finished spading bed 1.  Soil is unfrozen and wet.

December

Got all the tubers timely.  Got 14 loads of leaves and a couple of chips in Dec.

November status

Finished cutting off dahlia stalks on Friday.  They'd been nipped by frost, but not killed.  Compost bin is full.  Something is still burrowing under the bin, despite the hardware wire I put in the bottom.

The fall seedlings are doing well.  The winter cover mustard under the one end of the tomatoes is about 8 inches high, the rest of the seedings aren't showing much.  Put clover on the compost I put in bed 2, it's sprouted but not growing. --too late probably.

Lisa's relabeled the dahlias, will try to get the tubers tomorrow.

Cleanup and October Update

The fall greens have gotten past their bug problems.  Today took down the tomato netting and dug up the glads.  I think they did pretty well filling more of the pan than last year's.

I've cleaned the compost bin and dumped in bed 2, sowing seeds on top the the compost, which seem to have germinated.  Digging the glads destroyed whatever clover had been sowed, there's some mustard at the end of bed 2.

We had 5 inches of rain when we came back from Rhinebeck, and the dahlias were bent over.
Still holes under the compost bin.