Starting over with cover crops
· 3 min read
I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. Half of gardening is noticing what grows on its own.
A note on tools
There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. For a long time I treated wildflowers as an afterthought. Compost is slow magic, and it cannot be rushed. Saving seed means next year’s garden starts this autumn.
Half of the work is deciding what to leave out. Some of this will be obvious; some of it took me years. The best advice I got was simply to slow down.
You can get unexpectedly far with a secateurs and some a steady hand. Good compost is mainly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. Good seed trays is mainly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions.
The process
The soil is nicer every year, mainly because I stopped digging it. Most problems with raised beds turn out to be problems with time. You can get unexpectedly far with a hand trowel and some a steady hand. It took me six attempts to see the pattern. In August the light changes, and so does the work.
Leave some corners messy; the insects will thank you.
Small things
I sow a little too early every spring and never seem to learn. You can get unexpectedly far with a garden fork and some a steady hand. Here is what shifted, and what stayed exactly the same. Nothing here requires a secateurs, though it does make things easier.
What I kept
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about tomatoes. Looking back, the seasonal approach was the right call. Looking back, the wild approach was the right call. I like tomatoes that shows the marks of how it was made. This started as a quick note and slowly turned into something longer.
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about mulch. A cold frame extends the season by weeks at either end. A secateurs helps, but it is not the point.
Nothing here requires a rain barrel, though it does make things easier. I like the greenhouse that shows the marks of how it was made. In June the light changes, and so does the work.
- Give saving seed a full winter
- Stop before you are tired
- Note the date and the weather
tomatoes