The Plot

Just weeding and prep work today, but at last we are underway with the spring garden.  After morning ocean fog, a balmy 72 degrees by 10 a.m., light winds from the northeast.  Sun not yet fully on the plot in this shot, but you get the general lay-out.  Looking southwest.  Sun still relatively low in the south , but working its way north. By the equinox there is a full 10 hours of sunlight on this little piece of ground.  Light is not the issue.

Compost Pit

This is the compost pit, almost a year’s worth of leaves, kitchen scraps, sawdust, etc. nicely broken down, compacted and ready to use.  It was full to the top last fall.  I introduced some red wigglers then and they’re still active down in the pile. They’re great for helping to break stuff up, and their poop is an added benefit.  Even if I wasn’t trying to do a garden I would compost.  It’s just so cool. And easy.  Everybody should do it.  Makes great fertilizer and starter medium for just about anything.  Lots of commercial options if you don’t want to make your own system.  Turning is key.  For this I use an old-fashioned pitch-fork.  Labor intensive, but fun, and good exercise.

Compost Tomato

Ah, the beauty of composting.  This is a young, but very healthy tomato plant which has come up on its own in the hay over compost medium.  This one germinated from kitchen scraps, and not from other ways we have experienced.  Years ago, in Tallahassee, we got some free treated waste-water sludge from the city to put on our suffering grass one summer.  Supposed to be a very good fertilizer. After watering we had about a thousand little tomato plants.  Tomato seeds are not broken down in the human body. I’m just saying.

Oregano

This is the Oregano that survived the winter so well.  The Rosemary, Mint, Sage, Dill, Parsley, and Cilantro are also thriving.  Most of the Basil died in the December freeze, but enough survived that will re-propagate, I think.  If not, we’ll just throw in some more seed.  There’s nothing like fresh herbs every night, and the Pesto we make with the Basil is killer.  Fresh Oregano in spaghetti sauce? Forgetaboutit.

St. Francis

This is Francis, the Patron Saint of animals and gardeners, in amidst the Rosemary and Mint. I love his humility and grace, and if he can help the garden, he’s more than welcome to stay.

That’s the initial tour.  As I said, just weeding and prepping today.  We have a plan and will begin seeding tomorrow.