Mulch Madness

It's the middle of May, and I'm already thoroughly sick of weeding. I weed, they come back. Weed, grow, weed, grow. So on Tuesday, I vowed to weed smarter, not harder. And that means mulch.

Fortunately, when I was at Kane's Flower World in Danvers to pick up compost last weekend, I noticed that they had salt marsh hay available. Salt marsh hay makes wonderful mulch because it germinates in salt water, not in your garden. I picked up a bale, knowing it would be a good investment. Later that day, I spent a good hour weeding a single strawberry bed, so on Tuesday, I broke open that bale and mulched those strawberries down. And then I mulched the bush beans, pole beans, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, winter squash, and half the peas.

Among the garlic and shallots, which weren't actually all that weedy, I seeded a living mulch of arugula and radicchio. Along the asparagus, I planted pak choi. Beside the winter squash, New Zealand spinach. I didn't mulch down the edamame because it was just barely sprouting, and I was worried I'd cover some by accident. Once it has fully leafed out, I'll weed out that bed again and mulch it down with the last of the salt marsh hay.

On whichever beds remained unplanted, with the exception of the corn bed and the beds alongside the potato towers (where I have mounds of earth that will need to be shoveled later), I weeded and cultivated laid down black weed barrier. This will both warm up the soil nicely and prevent weeds from taking over while the beds await planting with the warm-weather crops: basil, eggplants, ground cherries, melons, peppers, tomatoes, and tomatillos.

At this point, the garden is pretty well planted and just awaiting a little heat. The peas are climbing their trellises happily. The garlic should set scapes in a couple of weeks or so. The onions, which had been struggling, seem to be perking up after all the rain last week. Two out of three potato varieties have sprouted (Bintje and Norkotah), so I have high hopes that we'll have new potatoes by midsummer. The strawberries seem intent on fruiting by then, too, judging from the profusion of blossoms.

All the beans are up now, even the straggling edamame, the asparagus is ferning out nicely, and the kale is growing like mad. We have swaths of volunteer lettuce and mustard greens and quite a few wandering raspberries that will need new homes. Last year's flowerbed is carpeted in green, and that's either an amazing amount of reseeding or the best crop of lamb's quarters ever. I can't quite tell. The beets and carrots we seeded are looking ready to thin, and there's space for more seeding (succession planting).

Inside the greenhouse, the snow peas are producing like mad, although the lone snap pea that actually sprouted does not seem to be setting any fruit. The some of the tomatoes and tomatillos are already blooming and keep outgrowing their pots. I'm hard pressed to keep them happy. Yesterday, I finished repotting all the cucumbers, zucchini, and patty pans. The melons, sunflowers, and nasturtiums have all sprouted nicely, and the marigolds, cilantro, and parsley really need to be planted outside. I have some insect damage on a single Highlander chile pepper plant, but I have extras for just this purpose.

The one thing I keep forgetting to do is seed the spinach. I need to soak the seeds in water for 24 hours first, and I just never remember to do it. Spinach, like onions, is one of those crops I have a very hard time growing, so I think I just keep putting off the inevitable failure. But who knows? Maybe this will be the year when I finally figure it out. I hope so because I really, really love spinach.

 Regardless, they'll have to wait. I'm currently sitting in O'Hare International Airport on my way to Moline, IL to visit my sister and attend her PhD graduation. Go Karissa! I am so proud of you. I'll be back on Sunday, and in the meantime, my husband and daughters are in charge of the garden. I'm sure they'll do a splendid job.

Time to Start Planting

Last night, a fellow parent asked me if it was warm enough to start planting outside. Answer: YES! You can begin planting as early as March 15th, depending on what you're planting. Here's a simple chart describing when and where to plant. Note that these dates and recommendations are for zone 6. You can find your plant hardiness zone here. Adjust by two weeks per zone (Zone 5 would plant two weeks later, Zone 7 two weeks earlier, and reverse that in June.)

Date	Start Inside	Direct Seed Outside	Plant Outside
Feb. 15th	Leeks
March 15th	Basil, Ground Cherries, Kale, Peppers, Tomatillos	Peas - assuming ground is not thoroughly frozen
April 1st	Broccoli, Cauliflower, Tomatoes, Herbs
April 15th	Nasturtiums, Potatoes (chitting)	Leeks, Carrots*, Beets*, Onions, Lettuce, Spinach**, Dill, Cilantro, Marigolds, Sunflowers	Leeks, Kale, Strawberries
May 1	Cucumbers, Melons, Squash (summer and winter)	Beans	Broccoli, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Nasturtiums
May: soil temp. is 70 deg		Corn***	Basil, Ground Cherries, Melons, Peppers, Tomatoes, Tomatillos, Squash (summer and winter), herbs
Early June	Broccoli, Cauliflower		Cucumbers
Mid-July		Lettuce, Peas	Broccoli, Cauliflower
Sept./Oct.		Garlic, Shallots

*To ensure a continuous harvest of beets and carrots, seed every two weeks starting April 15th.
**Soak your spinach seeds in water for 24 hours before planting to improve germination.
***If you're considering planting corn, remember that you must have enough space to plant 36 plants (6x6) to ensure proper pollination.
I hope this is helpful. If there's a vegetable you don't see here, look for similar vegetables and plant at the same time, e.g., brussels sprouts, cabbage, and collards should be planted the same time as broccoli.