Daniel's Pacific NW Garden

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Preparing Garden Bed From Sod. Black Plastic & Mole Family Method. 4.21.16

Start raised bed by spreading black plastic and weighing down edges.

I started these beds Jan 1, so they are about 3 1/2 months in the making. This method is minimal effort compared to rototilling a patch of fresh sod, and not nearly as obnoxious . I wanted some much larger garden beds, mainly to raise corn and sunflowers for chicken feed. There are also some other things to grow for the kitchen garden, overflow from the raised beds.

Three months or so later, uncover.

The method is very straight-forward. Obtain medium grade black plastic from the grocery or hardware store. Spread over the planned garden bed. I bought sheets that were 10 by 20 feet, so that is the dimension of the garden beds.

Weigh down the ends and sides with bricks, stones, logs, or dead rabbits. Not serious about that last, and they don't keep long enough.

Till or turn over soil.

Wait a few months. The exact timing is not rocket science. I figured 3 months would be plenty, but 2 months might have worked, or they could sit a couple more months.

When uncovered, all of the grass and weeds were dead. Oddly, there was green moss. I consider that about the same as peat moss and worked it into the soil.

We have a family of moles in our yard. There are annoying, and dig where I'd rather they don't. I accomodate to them by lining the bottom of raised beds with chicken wire, which keeps them out. For a while, I collected mole-hills in the wheelbarrow to use as the base soil in raised beds. Now I usually use a garden rake to smooth molehills and fill in low spots in the yard.

As it turned out, moles loved the black plastic. They tunnelled throughout the beds, such that all that remained was finely tilled soil and a few patches of moss. I started with a hand tiller, but it was easier to use a garden rake - type - hoe to break up the soil and smooth it. Very easy.

Note, I turned over another bed last month, and the soil was much tougher. There was no mole-assistance with that bed. These moles were my buddies. Moles are carnivores, so I imagine there are no bugs, slugs, or caterpillars in the bed. Didn't see any. No earthworms, either, but they will return.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Asclepius Syriaca Seedlings. Year Two. 4.20.16

Asclepius syriaca sprout. 4.20.16

I thought the milkweed did not survive our mild wet winter, and had rotted away. I had not labeled the area. It turns out, at least this sprout survived and is growing strong. Others may or may not follow. I was excited to see this, even if it's the only one to survive.

Update. 4.21.16. All told, there are 6 milkweed plants growing through the grass clipping mulch now. They look stout and healthy. Much larger and more robust appearing than last year.

Corn. 4.20.16

Germinating Indian Corn "Painted Mountain". 4.20.16

Over the past 2 weeks, I have been planting rows of Indian Corn "Painted Mountain". This variety is genetically diverse, from Native American collections, and is considered more cold tolerant than others. The soil temp is 58 to 60 degrees overnight, and high 70s to low 80s during the day. This is unseasonal heat. The normal practice is wait until mid May or later.

I decided to plant now. If there is a frost, that will kill the plants. If we have an unseasonable warm year all year, it will be good to get it growing early.

I also planted a block of Trinity Sweet Corn 3 days ago, far removed from the Indian corn and not downwind. The intent it plant more every 2 or 3 weeks, to get a long summer of sweet corn.

Blackberry plants. 4.20.16

Establishing blackberry plant "Columbia Star" 4.20.16

Most of the blackberry plants are growing. All 6 of the "Prime Ark Freedom" plants, that were so small when received in the mail, are growing new leaves.

Of the 3 "Ebony King" plants that I bought at Lowes, as dry bare root plants, one is growing, the other two look alive based on can coloration but no growth yet.

I also bought a potted "Columbia Star" plant a few weeks ago. That turned out to be a small tissue culture plant that had been placed in a larger container. That one is also growing.

Establishing blackberry plant "Ebony King". 4.20.16

Establishing blackberry plant "Prime Ark Freedom". 4.20.16

Bearded irises, second wave of flowers. 4.20.16

Now is the second wave of iris flowers, after the extra earlies. Most of these are historic irises. Most of the irises are yet to bloom, but there are many buds. This looks like the best year ever for them. I almost gave up last year, but this Spring makes the effrort worthwhile.

There was a little basal rot this year, but only a fraction of what I had in the past. The clumps are much larger and many more flower buds, compared to the past. They are all mulched with arborist chips - I wonder if that helped? I've always read that irises should not be mulched, but my thought is arborist chips are very open, and might restrict spread of disease.