We finally harvested our first strawberries off the patio and they were delicious! They came from this bed lined with garlic.

 

 

The garlic – called Music – is looking great. We got the original seed garlic from the good folks at Echollective Farm just across the river from us.

 

 

Here are how the rest of the gardens are looking so far.

 

The north garden is the second most worked soil. It’s benefiting from a major overhaul last year where Paul and some WWOOF volunteers laid rotting wood underneath the swales and berms to help hold water in the soil and add tilth. It seems to be working, but we’ll know when we see the health of the plants over time.

 

 

 

 

The middle swale has lettuce, tatsoi and spinach, plus tomatoes and carrots farther down. Not much to see just yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The west garden is brand new but we created swales and berms, then trenched the berms and placed layers of organic matter in them last fall hoping it would all compost together by spring. Well…it didn’t quite, but it has still been a pleasure to plant into. Now we wonder whether the plants will be able to find enough nutrients in the half mulch/half clay environment we’ve put them in. So far, things are coming up and looking happy and earthworms, spiders and other insects are at least present if not plentiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The south garden potatoes are enjoying the most worked soil, since that was the first ground we planted into 3 years ago, plus the benefits of some barn scrapings we got from our great neighbors. The rest of the garden is resting for the year, and there is a third berm, newly made, that we have the tomatoes in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also have about 20 tomato plants planted, but it’s hard to see them above the mulch!

This is the most ambitious organic gardening we’ve attempted so far.  We’ll keep you posted on our progress if you sign up for the blog on the home page.