VEGETABLE GARDEN GOES FROM CHAOS TO ORDER

HELLO again from your Garden Daddy here at the garden home! Today, even though very cloudy, cool & only 50-degrees I spent most of the day in the yard, basically in the veggie patch. I moved some top dressing of dry pine straw around and then used a small electric tiller and dug up my rows in preparation to plant around April 14th or so. I worked the soil very well and a lot of my decomposed material I had on the area had done just that and it was worked into the soil and turned under. I will then add some 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 fertilizer tomorrow and a little more "lime" (calcium) to help keep some blossom end rot from coming on the veggies, namely the tomatoes. It is very exciting for me today to see my paper plan becoming reality and knowing that soon-very soon I will have plants and seeds going in and then I will pull the removed straw and extra decomposing material back up around the new plants and let nature do what it does best...return the dead, decaying material back into rich, black, wonderful and very worthwhile soil! You can see in this photo below how rich my soil is already after this past year of adding my yard material, leaves, grass clippings and pine needles

I got 4-rows worked up today and the result is wonderful in my minds' eye. I am truly excited if I have not already mentioned it but the fact that soon there will be produce in "them thar' rows" makes today's work and strain worth all the effort. Tomato plants will go around the perimeter, tying them to the fence for support and then the rows will contain my beans, eggplant, peppers and some yellow squash. Last year, I planted my yellow squash on the outside of the chain link fence that is on the side of this bed in the photo below. But this year I will plant them in the main garden and then I am planting zucchini where the yellow squash was. Also in this photo you see the back of the yard at the alley and the back fence of my yard. I have and will continue to plant my cucumbers on the outside of that fence and train them up the fence and that keeps them clean and off the ground and easy to pick and shaded from heat by their own leaves.

I will leave you today with good wishes and these gardening affirmations in mind: "Know when you plant your seeds, whether they be in your home garden or life's garden, your harvests will surprise you with blooms and arm fulls of love!"...Garden Daddy