The full moon for March, the Worm Moon, occurred yesterday morning and in this part of the world we missed an eclipse. The Worm Moon is for the earthworms that are stirring now as the soil warms. And since this full moon is the first after the spring equinox, this Sunday is Easter. And that makes this Friday Good Friday which is traditionally when we plant potatoes. So have at it!! Actually the almanac says today is better than tomorrow but in any case we have good days to plant.
  It was 29 degrees on my back porch Tuesday morning but I didn't see damage on anything planted in the garden so far. There is plenty of warm weather in the 10 day forecast so we'll really start planting next week. Next week I'll plant peas and the first crop of green beans.

  We have a stack of good lumber left from the gazebo project and it is useful for those of you that want to make a short vertical extension to your beds. We don't have 20' pieces but you could easily cut a couple of the 16' pieces and build a few additions to your beds if you'd like. Think about framing an 8'x8' box as an example which would sit nicely over a portion of a 20' bed. And as long as you want new soil for your beds help yourselves to the soil we've been getting for the rebuilt beds we're working on. If you get to the soil before my volunteers you may take what you need for your beds. We'll keep buying soil as long as you keep moving it. Then once we finish filling the rebuilt beds and I don't see or hear of additional demand for soil we'll stop for this year. Next winter we'll do the same bed rebuilding project, so we'll  have soil again.
  As for amendments, everyone will be reimbursed for $50 worth of compost such as Black Kow, Chicken compost or mushroom compost. It's about $5/bag, so if you'll make the effort, we'll reimburse you for it. Bring your receipt to Jenny after you've put your amendments on your bed(s) and she will get you paid.
  The beds have been mineralized/fertilized for the spring. During the growing season you'll need to add additional Nitrogen to your beds as you replant follow-on crops. Best product to use at that time is bloodmeal. it's fast acting but won't burn your plants. The heat and rain burn up extra nitrogen so we can't store it in the soil. Other than Nitrogen, any other fertilizer/mineral you add to the soil will be a waste of your money. Don't even think about using Epsom salts unless you want to make bricks with the subsoil under your bed.
  Don't be in a hurry to plant, we're getting close, today I prepped for potatoes which I'll plant next week. Then once we're into April we'll really get started with spring plantings.

 Things are starting to get extra busy around the garden. With the warmer weather and longer days our list of chores increases. This week I've started pepper, eggplant,  and tomato seeds under lights in the basement. Both peppers and eggplants like warmer soil to germinate so I have a heat mat under the rack and I actually leave the lights on all the time for a bit more warmth. Those two also take longer to germinate, so be patient. Tomatoes are much easier to start, much less fussy, but they will respond nicely to the extra heat from the heat mat.
  The cabbage seedlings grew out nicely so today they went into the garden. We've got a week of nice weather ahead so the transplants won't have too much shock.
  Although it's too early to plant potatoes in our gardens, we did put our crop of potatoes in at Kedron. As for my crop, wait 2 weeks to the traditional planting date of Good Friday. Yes, tradition says to plant potatoes on Good Friday.
  With the dry weather we've had, the soil should come in to fill the new frames. Additionally, the fertilizer shipment came in today so Saturday we'll be fertilizing/mineralizing the entire garden. If you're available to help please join us. You have to a bit anal, each bed gets 33grams of Boron, 16 grams of Copper, and 41 grams of Zinc. Also there is 6 ounces of sulfur, 1.1 lbs of K2SO4 and 2 lbs of N. If you are up for a challenge of evenly distributing 33 g of Boron across an entire bed, come join us.
  One other note, I'll be holding a intro class at the garden Saturday morning. If you're new, welcome! Come play in the soil with us Saturday morning but don't be in too  much of a hurry to start planting.