Dave and I began our work on the garden plot last weekend. Saturday was a beautiful day, so we began tackling the many weeds and remnant crops in our 10' x 40' plot. As it turned out, our neighbors on either side also chose to visit the garden on Saturday! We learned that our plot hasn't been tended in a couple of years, which is why it was "growing wild."
On one side we have a veteran gardener, and on the other a new couple with two very cute young kids. The vet is a woman who is downgrading from 2 to 3 plots, and she grows a number of native plants in addition to vegetables and flowers. The couple with kids were really nice. Their son is 4 and their daughter 3, so they were thoroughly adorable "helpers." The girl stuck her face in the dirt to sing to the soil and encourage it to grow good things! She also welcomed the worms and bugs to the garden, and at my suggestion wished them a happy Valentine's Day.
As to our wild weeds, well, that took some time. We had a lot of fun working in the sun on Saturday, and accomplished a lot! We decided to come back on Sunday to finish pulling the weeds and to lay down a tarp. It will stay in place for about 6 weeks to help kill back unwanted weeds. Really it's quite a tragedy that we didn't photograph the change we've already made - it's pretty incredible!
On Monday I returned to add a second tarp - our first one didn't quite cover everything. Each time we visit we meet more gardeners, and it is a very friendly group. I also planted seeds for starts. Rumor has it that lavender and tomatoes are tough, but we will be happy for any and all victories we have this year. Since we are new gardeners, failures are to be expected and learned from!
Yesterday we were thrilled to discover that our first seed had germinated! We named him "Tomato." Clever, eh? Then this morning we saw that the cherry tomatoes and chives also germinated! I guess I did something right. We got ready and went to our gardener meeting in Issaquah. It was a little slow, but it was nice to learn more about the garden and other gardeners. We also picked up a few more seeds - broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, and bush beans. After a stop for some pick-me-up coffee at Ladro, we went back to Dave's and discovered that the sprouts just keep on comin'! It's very exciting!
I've started a garden log. We're planning on starting the rest of our seeds after our trip in March. In late March/early April we will uncover our plot, add compost, and till the soil. Then we will top it with mulch. In mid-April we will plant our seeds and transplant our starts, depending on the weather. We're so excited to see how it goes!
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