The gardens are really coming along! This weekend, I cleaned out two of the raised beds and planted several varieties of peas (Sugar Snap and Wando) along with spinach. We tilled the newest garden bed in the backyard and were really surprised by the soil. Don't get me wrong, it is still Oklahoma clay, but it is not as bad as the West garden. We didn't pick up any compost because we decided to use partially composted mulch from our mulch pile to mix into the soil and break it up a bit. I also added two wheelbarrows full of compost from our compost pile.
Today, I formed two wide rows in the new garden and planted 138 seed potatoes, 60 Super Sweet Onions, 80 Red Onions, and a handful of Beet seeds. I formed a moat around the whole bed and in between the rows. This will keep any rain that falls on the garden in the garden...a must here in Oklahoma! I covered the center moat/walking space with loose hay. The hay will keep the trail from being muddy and will clearly show my girlies where to walk in the garden.
A note on the frugal nature of gardening...I purchased my seed potatoes, onions, and some other seeds at Atwoods. Seed packages were 8 cents each and I paid around 2 dollars for 140 onion sets. The potatoes were around 8 dollars. An 11 dollar expense will turn into a year's worth of potatoes and onions...and we're not even covering the additional seeds I picked up for 8 cents per packet!
As I was planting, though, I was thinking of what a blessing it is to work with the soil. I'll have to share the story of my paternal grandparents someday...I'm convinced that gardening and homesteading are in my blood.
