to this ...
One of our plots was fallow last year, so it was filled with a wildling version of lamium, and a weed I've encountered before, although I haven't ID'd it properly -- it looks like a non-silvery artemesia, with tenacious stoloniferous roots. It took a couple of hours to dig it all out ... and I'm sure there are bits left, along with some quack grass. The second plot was also weedy, although not as bad. The paths are full of the same weeds, but lamium doesn't seem to like being stomped on, so the paths around our area (and leading to the compost bins) are already looking like paths again.
We started a couple of weeks ago, but rainy weekends delayed our progress. The Civic Garden Center sponsors the garden, and provided those heavy cedar boards to replace the rotted sides of our plots and half a dozen others. Ed and I finished installing the sides Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, he dug in half a dozen bags of mushroom compost and cow manure while I fetched #25 pots of leaves I'd salvaged at work. The leaves went through the giant vac during cleanup last fall, but aren't as finely chopped as I'd like... still beats paying for mulch. The earth worms should be happy with it. 
It's too early for tomatoes, but we have finely-engineered stakes ready when White Flower Farm ships our heirloom plants in a few weeks. I'm sorry to miss Tomatomania! there, which is a great event (120-plus varieties of tomato plants plus thousands of veggie gardeners in one place. What's not to love?)
It might be too late, but we planted mesclun, oakleaf lettuce, spinach and Super Sugar Snap peas Sunday, leaving room for tomatoes, basil, pole beans, and a few cukes and summer squash. And hopefully a row or two of zinnias.
2 comments:
Renee, there's a local tomato-growing group, CHOPTAG, that swaps heirloom tomato plants in early May at a park in Loveland. All are welcome, even if you don't have plants to swap -- these folks start so many plants that they have zillions of extras and are actively hoping they'll go home with fewer than they brought. You can find them online here.
Once you get the seed-starting habit, it's easy to raise enough to share -- I always used to supply friends in Connecticut with tomatoes and basil, among other things. How great that enough like-minded folks got together. Have you put that link on the Locavore blog?
Unfortunately, I'm working 6 days most weeks right now, so ordering from White Flower Farm (my former employer) seemed like the best way to get great plants without having to spend any precious weekend time shopping.
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