Soil Testing

I collected a sample of dirt from my new garden for testing. This was a while ago. Before the rain (still misting), before the cow manure, before the peas were planted, etc. It's been sitting in a dishpan drying and waiting to be sent off for analysis.

Ann picked up some soil test bags labeled Agri Analysis, Inc. from somewhere in Centreville. She offered to drop mine off there today since she'll be in Centreville for a meeting. I presume this is associated in some way with University of Maryland or the Extension service or something, but I don't know any more details.

The test costs $13 (another step toward that $64 tomato?) and should be well worth it because it'll tell me what could be improved about my soil for the future.

As an aside, Google Weather's forecast for today through Friday is 54/34, 61/43, 58/31, and 49/31 with rain today and Thursday. Not bad weather for germinating. :)

Cow Manure, Peas, and Spinach

Last week, I spread 800 pounds (twenty 40-pound bags) of cow manure in my new 20' by 20' garden. Bill tilled it in for me. So I was ready to begin planting this weekend.

Yesterday I planted a row of Garden Peas and a row of Spinach, both from Rohrer Seeds in Pennsylvania. The peas are Early Frosty (64 day maturity, 24 inch height). The catalog description reads:

64 days (24 in.). Our most popular home garden variety produces
uniform, dark green blunt pods tightly filled with delicious peas. Wilt resistant variety with excellent yields, vigor and freezing quality.

I hadn't intended to plant spinach. But I had space, and lots of leftover seeds from Ann and Bill from last year. And I noticed they could be planted early (March 15-August 15) and matured quickly (48 days) so they'd be out of the way in time for my summer planting. The variety is Bloomsdale. The description reads:

Savoy-leaved. The first early, vigorous variety. Desirable for local gardens. Plants erect in growth, hardy and attractive. Leaves large, crumpled, somewhat blistered, dark glossy green.

With the peas, I'm doing a sort of experiment. Half of the seeds I planted were soaked overnight (actually closer to 21 hours by the time they got planted). One quarter were soaked for several hours (about 4). And the remaining quarter were moistened at the last moment so the inoculant would stick. I planted half the overnight seeds, then the several hours seeds, then the dry seeds, followed last by the remaining overnight seeds. We'll see if this makes a difference in the germination of the seeds.

The sprinkler I bought that's supposed to water a 30' by 30' square area barely reached 10' by 10'. I need to reevaluate my watering plans. Happily it rained quite a bit last night, and is supposed to continue raining for several days, so I didn't have to worry about an initial watering. Just so it gets warm quickly enough that the seeds don't rot before they germinate....

The forecasted weather for the next few days beginning with today is 49/38, 52/36, 52/38, 58/43, 59/36.

2008 Recap and Lessons Learned

Last year's vegetable garden was less than a stellar success.

The plot selected was overshadowed by nearby dogwood trees and was at a lower elevation than the surrounding area. Both the peas and corn had very low germination, which I suspect was due to cold air settling and/or water sitting in the low spot that was my garden.

I was largely pregnant and couldn't keep up with the weeds. It didn't help that the ground also became hard and dry, preventing easy pulling.

This year, I have a plan to combat these problems. I have selected a new site for my garden, about 20 feet further from the dogwoods and with better elevation for drainage. I intend to experiment with cloth mulch for weed control between the rows for easier weeding, and a sprinkler system for easier watering. I also mixed 800 pounds of composted cow manure into my 20' by 20' garden. I'm hoping this will not only improve the fertility of the soil, but also its texture and workability. I've also taken a soil sample for analysis to determine what other amendments would benefit the soil.