We’ve spent a lot of time covered in dirt lately.
Over the weekend, Aaron’s mom Anna and Aunt Brenda popped by the house to help plant the North garden. The undertaking was a bit more than any of us fully anticipated.
Removing starts from their Winstrip trays and transferring them into the ground was certainly messier than we expected. Then, hoeing rows and planting seeds directly into the soil – while quick – had a learning curve of its own. Row planting, hill planting, seed spacing, depths, companion planting – we’re figuring out a ton as we go.
Generally, all the new ideas and our execution seem to have gone fairly smoothly. You know – other than the back strain, sunburn and slight dehydration. It will be insanely exciting to see what we have come up over the next couple of weeks!
As we planted, we made a few adjustments to the plan on the fly. We quickly uncovered just how much square footage we’re working with as we planted. In a few cases, we simply didn’t have enough seed to cover the space we’d reserved – and, generally, we didn’t need more. So, we swapped a few plantings and locations as we went.
I frantically scribbled onto print outs of our original plan and attempted to make note of the changes. The map outline and combination of straw paths through the garden will help significantly to keep track of what is planted and where as things start to grow.
Which translates into:
Getting into the “plant all the things!” mood – we didn’t quite stop there. I also added some Marigolds and crop markers around the edges of the garden. Then, got a little plant-happy near the barn with Hollyhocks, Hostas and a few flowering perennials.
It’s absolutely hilarious how exciting it becomes to plant literally everything the minute you see a few small leaves pop out of the ground.