Time to begin?

That's a tough question to answer.  The weather is at times saying yes and then cruelly, no.  We are currently at 43 degrees right now.  I walked out to my garden plots and the when I dug into the soil, it was cold and wet.  Not a big surprise as the weather has been quite seasonal.
So, what can be done given the soils are not ready for planting even the hardiest of seeds.  My answer is quite simple.  I will begin the process of clearing out my plastic greenhouse.  I placed one of my remote thermometers in it to get a gauge of what the temperature ranges are at this time.  Once the coldest temps are consistently above freezing, I will then set up the various hydroponic systems I have and  begin seeding in the early crops.  I was behind the curve the last time I planted in it and the crops bolted before I could get a decent crop produced due to too much summer heat.  It's a delicate balance to get the seeds in at the right time.  One season is not like the other in this area. 
I did a little cleaning around the beds when I was outside Saturday morning.  The rains and snows took a little toll on the them.  Nothing huge as everything looks to have come through the winter.  The winter rye is in a sort of dormant state but that will change with a few more weeks of 50 degree weather.  It will be soon enough before I have to cut the rye and start working it into the soil.
I also eyed up the area where I will be building the glass greenhouse this spring.  Lots to do there so I just need to start chipping away at that in small chunks.  The next step is to remove the bricks and paver stones in the area of the greenhouse floor.
Once those are removed, I can then use the rototiller to break up the ground where I will be starting the base of the unit.  That won't be for a little while yet as the ground is wet and we are expecting some freezing temps in the near future.
I took out some kitchen scraps this afternoon and buried them in the unfinished composter.  I did this in order to get the processes moving to create bacteria once the temps moderate.  There will be slow decomposition for now and even that is fine.  It was deep enough to perhaps awaken or feed the existing microbes that exist that far down.   
It was nice to get out in the yards and tool around the various points to get the gardening juices flowing again.  Spring is about a month or so away but hope has been rekindled.  It should be an interesting year given my focus on making the garden contribute to our household.  There is  big difference between gardening as a hobby and gardening to augment our food supply.  We shall see how it turns out.  It is a challenge for sure.  So, there is where the gardening progress is at this point in the year.  Till next time, Happy gardening everyone!

A lot has been happening.....

Even though I have not posted for awhile, all due to a very busy few months, I have been quite active in both getting the garden set for winter and experimenting with winter gardening.  I hope that everything settles down to a point where I can post more often.

Most people shut their gardens down after the typical season is over and stop all activity after removing all the dead plants.  There is nothing wrong with that.  That was what I typically did every year.  But after seeing a plateau in both the quality and quantity of production in my gardens, I did research on how to improve the soil.  I soon realized the value of using cover crops in my garden beds.  I have written about this in previous posts but I certainly believe it bears another mention.

Cover crops can be a whole array of plants that you grow in your beds that will add structure and nutrients to your garden.  They can be planted any time of the year but I do it at the end of the planting cycle.  I have settled into a pattern of growing winter rye every year.  Winter Rye grows well into early winter and remains quite vibrant throughout.  I was a little delayed in getting it started this year but it has done pretty well given it's late start.  As can be seen in the picture below, it is filling in pretty well.  If I had been able to start it earlier, the growth would have been much more robust.  A reminder that in gardening, it's about the timing.

This will suffice though as it will continue to grow over the winter season.  It will prevent soil erosion, give me a green manure that I can cut in the Spring and the roots will supply structure and nutrients over the next growing season.  

While the rest of the garden is on auto pilot, I decided to experiment with growing cold weather crops in a structure.  It has it's challenges for sure.  In the mid-atlantic area, we get some pretty cold temps and snow during the December through February period.  So, I have decided to utilize the structure as seen below.  

By itself, it will not offer enough protection for the whole season.  While I am not an expert, I am going to use a multiple layer approach to see if it will work.  I have no illusions that I will get robust crops on my first attempt.  As I said earlier, this is an experiment.  But, any crop I do get, will be a bonus.  

So, here is a chronological look at where I am at this point in time.

I planted the crops about 3 weeks ago and they have grown as seen in this above photo I took Saturday.  I have various lettuces in the first set of rows with spinach in the middle set and in the far row I have onions, carrots and La Rosa lettuce.  

Temps have been dropping steadily lately and we are under a frost warning tonight.  So, this morning, I went out and added layers to move my effective zone up probably 2-3 levels.  From my guess, this is now probably at a zone 9-10 area.  That supposedly will get me to lower Georgia or northern Florida zones.  

I first put a layer of vegetable spun fiber over the crops inside the structure.  I put in sticks and then pinned the fabric down on the ends so it would be taut.  The fabric does not touch the plants that way. Then, I took some UV heavy duty plastic and put it over the structure itself as seen below. 

This should allow the air inside to warm up during the day and slowly cool off during the night. Again, no assurances this will work but I think it gives me a fairly decent chance. 

I am also doing the last of composting that can be achieved.  I cut my front lawn for what I hope is the last time.  In doing so, I cut it very low which produced a pretty large amount of clippings.  I collect the last cuttings of the season as I believe they do not decompose fully and thus can cause various issues in the Spring.  So, here is the final collection.

Given they were very wet when I cut them, I am going to let them sit out overnight to dry.  This insures that there will not be any ammonia smell due to their fresh state.  Once dried, I will use them in each of the three composters I have.  This will add bulk and allow me to add leaves to get one last burst before the real cold weather hits.
Another facet of the year end gardening around here is rounding up of leaves that are currently falling.  As seen below, I get a pretty good supply from my tree.  I do have to augment it by picking up my neighbors leaves.  I've even been known to stop on my way to or from work and pick up a few bags.  It always has amazed me that people don't use this free source of nutrients in place of the artificially produce fertilizers that they do use.  I really have no issue with grabbing the bags regardless of what people may think.  I can't seriously remember the last time I bought any soil for my garden.  It makes sense to me both monetarily and environmentally.

Well, that sums up the activities in the garden at my house.  Hopefully you are enjoying the last of the season and are doing your necessary prep work for a great start to your garden season next year. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone! 

Awww... the 70's in December

What do you do when you are supposed to be in the dormant period of your gardening but the weather is acting like it's late fall?  That question came to me today as we reached the low 70's today.  Yes, it was 70 degrees on Christmas day here in Baltimore.  I walked out to take a quick survey of the garden between downpours and I must say that the winter rye crop has grown quite a bit since we started this unusual run of warmer weather.  I am not complaining mind you.  The extra rye will help in the spring.  But who would have thought we'd be in the 70's at this time of the year.  Crazy eh?
I began mentally listing what I could do with the time I have off from work.  Usually, I have stopped most of my work and am looking over my seed stock to see what - if any - seeds I need to get to be ready for early March.  But, given the extra bonus period of nice weather, seeds are the last thing I will be spending my time looking at this weekend.
The first thing I am going to do is walk my garden to see if I need to do any maintenance and general pick up around it.  It was a crazy fall so I think I may have left a few things to Spring.  Guess I'll get to that now.  Cleanup would be a top priority.  I have some leaves from last year that I should probably throw in the couple of composters I have since they are still actively working.  That would also clear up the area behind my garage and set it up for next year.
The second thing I am going to do is remove any leaves remaining in the beds so that I can just cut the rye in the early spring.  That will give me a leg up on the whole process.  Not a bad bonus considering it's winter.  At least I guess it's winter.
And the third thing I am going to do is get my weeder out to trim the grass around the bed borders. The grass has been growing the last couple of weeks.  That has resulted in a blush of growth around the borders which looks unsightly and is a possible source of bacterial growth in the spring.  If I leave the grass and probably embedded weeds to the Spring, the first cut I do of them will broadcast weed seed and any bacteria in them into the garden beds.  If I cut them now, the cold of winter will kill off the bacteria and probably most of the weed seeds too.  So, my choice is to address the issue now when I can let nature do the dirty work for me.  Always a plus.
Given that the forecast is for intermittent rain tomorrow, I will have to pick and choose times to get these completed.  But, get them done I must.  If you have a garden that is currently laying dormant, you too may want to consider doing a few maintenance items to save yourself time in the spring.  If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will respond as soon as possible.  Here's hoping you had a wonderful Christmas.  Until next time, Happy Gardening!