Ready to Plant

Raking.  Raking.  Raking.  I feel like all that I do is spend my days raking.  But that is how you create a garden.  By raking.

In the berry garden by the cistern, I have been creating widely spaced rows for the raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries.  I have done the entire thing by hand.  J tilled the dirt first, but he couldn't use the plow on this plot.  It was too short to be successful.  So I raked it.  When I am done, I will have eight or nine 12' rows spaced about two feet apart...easy to walk between.

In the vegetable garden, J has started to use the plow.  He couldn't do the whole thing today as we had a bit of a leak in the irrigation overflow and the ground was too wet to plow.  He will finish plowing tomorrow, and then we will begin raking.  The plow isn't exactly right for our garden.  It roughs in the rows, but we will have to define them with the rake by hand.

We will work in 12' sections, adding a perpendicular walking space between sections.  This will allow us to define where certain plants are, and also work smaller sections so we don't feel overwhelmed to get it all done at once.  My goal for tomorrow (after J finishes the overall plow lines) is to get one 12' sections raked and planted with carrots, radishes, lettuce, and beets.  These are the first plants to go in because they can handle the frost - in fact they prefer to have cold ground.  In Central Oregon, gardeners do not consider themselves to be "after the frost" until May 31st - and that's generous.  You still have to assume that you will have frosts after that date, but most will not be super hard frosts.

J says he thinks that he will learn what boredom really means tomorrow.  I honestly cannot wait to get seeds in the ground.  It is exciting to me.  Everything except for the raking.