Weeding between the lines

By Jim McGinty

Spring is in the air:  warm, gentle breezes, an occasional rain drop, and  bright sunshine – weeds, greening lawns, robins, daffodils – it’s all good, especially after our recent mini-ice age.

Here at Rancho McGinty, the garlic stalks are 9 inches tall and bright green, the asparagus shoots are poking through their mulch covering, and the fruit tree buds are popping open with the promise of apples, pears, and cherries in the not-too-distant future.

Now that the garden areas and raised beds have received their spring addition of aged chicken poo and barnyard waste (an aromatic mixture of hay, straw, and manure and urine from our goat and sheep pets), seeding the garden with cool weather crops has officially begun.

So far we have dropped in seeds for radishes, carrots, beets, turnips, rutabagas, and giant sugar beets (“Mangelwurzels”, for our livestock).

Mid-May, we’ll plant seeds for the peas and beans, and probably (?) transplant at least SOME of the remaining cool weather crops:  kale, chard, cabbage, and broccoli – we’ll see how the outdoor temperatures ramp up, and we always plant in waves of transplants (“succession” planting), so that if we have a snap frost, we have immediate replacements ready to leap into the garden.

Planting potatoes and onions will be on the calendar somewhere around mid-May as well.  We plan on using a new-to-us potato planting method:  dig a shallow trench into the garden soil, set the seed potatoes (whole chicken-egg-sized seed potatoes or cut potatoe chunks with at least one “eye” showing) into the trench about 12 inches apart, such that the eye is above soil level, and backfill with dirt.  Cover the potato patch with 10 inches or so of straw (not seed-filled hay), add an inch or so of water once per week (keeping the mulch and potatoes moist is important), and stand back!  

We’ll keep you posted on how this turns out – hopefully better than my experiment last summer with the “Alaska Sweet Corn” ploy – sigh.

GARDEN CALENDAR

On Thursday, May 9, those greenery gratifiers, the Pend Oreille County Master Gardeners, will offer a class on growing berries and small fruit in the home garden.  Blackberry milkshakes, breakfast cereal with blueberries, strawberries and cream are all possible in our area of the gardening world – learn from the experts, and I’ll be there as well.  Class runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Extension Office (227 S. Garden Ave., Newport), and you can call for a seat reservation at 509-447-2401.

On Saturday, May 11, those same plant promulgators, the Pend Oreille County Master Gardeners, will offer a class on drip irrigation from 10 a.m. to noon, at the same Extension Office.  Drip irrigation will save you money and time, providing you learn how to correctly set up your own personalized system, so be sure to call the office again at 509-447-2401 for your reserved seat.

Also on Saturday, May 11, the annual Garden Expo will be held on the campus of Spokane Community College (1810 N. Greene St., Spokane) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Admission and parking are both free, with lots of garden-related stuff to do, experience, and buy:  demonstrations, seminars, 250+ vendors, food trucks, garden art, door prizes, and a lot more.  Be sure to bring a wagon or cart to haul your loot, and some cash – and remember to wear sensible shoes.

On Tuesday, May 14, our local garden club will meet in Camden Grange at 7 p.m. for an evening of fun and mental illumination.  We’ll have a class on backyard composting, start rumors about you if you are not in attendance, eat great snacks, and generally misbehave (but in a good way!).  You can always obtain more information on our club’s doings by checking our Facebook group (Elk-Camden garden keepers), or check our blog, here.

That’s it for this month – time to go out into the garden, and I don’t even have to wear snowshoes!