much too much mulch

Year two of the garden project is well under way! We got a little bit of a late start this year due to a minor (ha!) setback with our mulching system. You see, I'm one to read a book on a subject of choice- become slightly obsessed with "going by the book" and have trouble when things don't fall right into place as they should. So, just like my handy gardeners bible states, and as I did last year, I spent several days at the beginning of spring weeding my beds and walkways, testing soil for proper pH, amending the soil to encourage good root and fruit development, spreading newspaper in the walkways and distributing 3 bales of straw to mulch the walkways and keep the soil moist and cool. We took care to tell them at the feed store the intended use of the straw- so as to ensure a seedless batch, as the book says, a VERY important step.

So with the garden all ready to plant, I waited about a week until I would have free to time to head up to my favorite nursery and hand pick all the seeds and tomato starters we would need for this years garden- which was sure to be even better than last years. As the week was going by, I was more and more anxious to get planting...I've been seeing zucchini and corn showing up in the produce aisles at the store and I resist the temptation to taste a bit of summer early...it will be worth the wait. But then, a roadblock! My lovely straw that I spent hours spreading had done exactly what mother nature intended it to do in such delicious, nutrient rich soil- it germinated!! (Wait, what???seedless?????)

Now we aren't talk'n just a sprout here or there- we had ourselves a full blown straw garden. I panicked!! From further inspection I could see that the seeds were everywhere! Now, how does one rid a garden of such a disaster while still holding true to my organic intentions? Unfortunately I still don't have an answer to that. After many phone calls to more seasoned gardeners, and one very frustrating call the the feed store, the consensus was that my only way out, without pretty much destroying all my hard work, was to rely on good ol' Round Up!

This in itself was a very hard decision for me...I have worked so hard to use as many organic methods as I can- planting the right plants next to each other so that the good bugs, eat the bad bugs; lying out trays of beer to attract the snails away from the delicate lettuce leaves; fertilizing with fish emulsion instead of Miracle Grow...all to have to use Round Up in the end!!

So I set out to pull out as much of the germinated straw that I could- I discovered what a beneficial step laying all that newspaper was- because in those areas I was able to simply roll up the straw in the paper that lay below- which also kept the straw seeds away from the dirt underneath- a HUGE help in the clean up process. Because of my diligence, I was able to successfully remove all the germinated straw and only have to spray Round Up on a few of the edges of my beds...but then the waiting period begins. I can't say that I'm convinced, due to the quick and through eradication of the straw seedlings, the instructions on the label indicate that it is safe to plant two weeks after spraying. So over the next two very long weeks I check back in and success the weeds are gone and I'm ready to start again.

This time, since the spring clock was ticking and each day I waited to plant was another day without my taste of summer, I decided to forgo the mulch preparations for the time being and get right to planting. Up the hill to Eisley's nursery, (I could spend hours in this place) and out the door loaded up with seeds of all sorts and my tomato plants- I'm ready to plant.

Now when choosing what to grow this year, I have to say I got a bit lazy. I defaulted mostly to my successes from last year ( zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers...) and avoided my failures (celery!- I'll try again another year when there are less roadblocks!) I did revisit a few crops that didn't do well last year, but I tried moving them this time to different spots- so we'll see. Some of the hopefuls this year are the melons, pumpkins and corn. I scaled back on a few things that we just didn't love last year- radish being one of them. Even though they are the most rewarding to grow, because they are so incredibly quick, I have yet to find a variety that isn't too spicy for my taste. So I'm trying the French Breakfast variety and the Watermelon Radish, which is pretty mild. Whatever I can't eat will be gladly donated to a neighbor:o)

Once everything was planted I started again with the newspaper in the walkways, topped with a new, fresh batch of SEEDLESS straw...after a thorough inspection this time, I think we are in the clear!

As for other changes, I'm really trying to fill up all the usable space in the garden this year, unlike last year where I ended up with lots of un-planted territory. This means squeezing things in tight, and planting more quantities. This should be interesting where the squash is concerned. I have planted more than double the amount from last year- so I imagine I'll be spending countless hours scouring the Internet for creative squash recipes. All of you just plan on some zucchini bread from me this Christmas!;o) The funny part about all this squash is that I'm really the only one in the family that likes it! I added butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash to the garden this year too just to see how it does. So if I have success, my neighbors will be fully stocked this year.

In all actuality though, for me, it is the process much more than the result that I enjoy. I'm happy to grow something I won't even eat, and give it away, just because I CAN!!

Be well and here's to tasting summer soon!