Changes

Just realized it has been over two months since my last post. The warmest March on record has been followed by a more normal April, with cooler temperatures and much needed rain. As of today we have seen over 4 inches of rain, which is the most since last August.

After having read "Teaming with Microbes", I'm looking at the soil in a different way and making some changes to the garden. The biggest change is the tillage, or actually non-tillage of the soil. It is recommended by almost all gardening books and articles that in the spring you till the soil, which supposedly loosens it and incorporates air. But this tillage also disturbs the vast network of microorganisms which inhabit the soil.

So instead of broadforking the beds and in some cases, double-digging to a depth of 24", I basically did nothing other than lightly raking in some compost and a couple of amendments. The compost is one of the three major components recommended by the authors of "Teaming with Microbes". The compost acts as an inoculant to introduce more microorganisms into the soil, as well as improve its fertility.

The second component of this method is mulch, which aids microbial activity as well. As a general rule, annuals and vegetables prefer bacterial mulches, such as fresh grass clippings, and perennials, shrubs and trees prefer fungal mulches, such as wood chips or brown leaves.

The third component is the use of compost tea, either as a soil drench or foliar spray. Again, this serves the purpose of adding microorganisms to the soil. The end result will hopefully be plants that are more vigorous, disease-resistant and nutritious.  My next project will be to build my own compost tea brewer, so that I can start brewing my own compost tea.

One of our blueberry plants loaded with blossoms already. Should be a nice harvest come July.

Sugar snap peas are starting to grow. Once the weather warms they seem to grow a few inches every day.