It's May! And although this is the earliest I've gotten my garden in, I still feel behind. Is that just a perpetual spring garden feeling?

The garden space I'm growing in has been a labor of love. When I moved to the land last July, the garden had dense weeds and grass up to my chest. I've spent the last 8 months pulling, cutting, burning, and managing weeds nearly every week. I'm proud of the progress I've made, but I know this year will be a battle to reduce the weed seed burden in the soil.

Unfortunately, the garden is innundated with what I think I've identified as Reed Canarygrass, a prolific invasive. The grass spreads through seeds, stem fragments, AND underground rhizomes, which means it's aggressive and annoying. Simply tilling the soil can multiply the population; simply burning the grass doesn't account for the rhizomes; simply digging up the rhizomes doesn't get rid of the seeds. Sigh. I've been digging up, using plastic left behind by the previous owners, and burning to try and manage the attack. Each year should get easier and easier.

What's in the garden?

• Romaine and bibb lettuce - This is the first year I've been intentional about growing little bundles of lettuce - and they are doing so good! Very exciting

• All the brassicas - Brassicas are my favorite veg type. I have cauliflower, broccoli, mini broccoli, cabbage, kale, mini purple kale, and collards. Very exciting.

• Alliums - the hardneck garlic is looking awesome. I also have bunching (green) onions, spring cipollini onions, sweet onions, and storage onions - all growing well, some better than others. This is my first year growing onions. Very exciting.

• Strawbs - the strawberries that were left behind and neglected by the previous growers are doing great. They had planted several varieties, but it was hard to identify who was who... soooo they are all mixed together - big ones, small ones, white ones, red ones. Very exciting.

• Peas - My favorite garden snack - they rarely make it inside. I planted two varieties this year. We've had some warm weather, so they are a bit stunted, but the last couple cool days of rain have helped! Very exciting.

• Tomatoes - I always plant way more tomato plants than I actually need. These guys have been in the greenhouse, but I think this week (maybe next), they will be transplanted outside! I have slicers, paste, cherry, and some funky varieties. Very exciting.

• Peppers - I started a good variety of peppers this year - some hot, some sweet. I think I'm most excited about my lilac bells and shishito peppers! Obviously, very exciting.

• Beans - Beans will go in soon too! I will be growing a couple different varieties of pole beans. I love cooking with them, and it's so nice to have them in the garden.

• Herbs - Not my favorite to grow, but a logical choice for the garden. Rosemary, oregano, parsley, cilantro, mint, lemonbalm, summer savory. Pretty exciting.

Field Update

The field EXPLODED with grass after we had a couple days of heavy rain and because I eventually want to expand to growing out there, I decided I needed to take steps to make that happen. The dang Reed Canarygrass is prolific out there too, so I decided to re-use plastic left behind and cover the area I'll grow in.

This technique (called silage tarping or occultation) works well for a few reasons: it heats up the plants underneath encouraging seeds to sprout, blocks out sunlight so that those seeds don't thrive, and also heats up the ground underneath to kill any plants and encourage soil microbe activity. It also creates an environment where earthworms move deeper into the soil, contributing to soil health.

It's also a pain in the butt. It's a ton of work to get them out there and a ton of work to keep the tarps in place. I'm pleased with how it's working though, nearly all the grass underneath is dead and as new grass sprouts, it will weaken the root systems underneath.

After the tarps have been on for a couple of months and the weather warms up, I'll take them off, let the seeds sprout and cover it up again to further reduce the seed burden and weaken the plants. Hopefully by fall it will be ready to plant... fingers crossed.

Having this garden space has been absolutely essential to my mental health over the last several months. I'm (clearly) excited to see it bloom.

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