Ground Breaking

   Looks like I'm a bit behind schedule this year, compared to last. On March 22, 2011 I wrote that I had spent 3 weeks on garden soil preparation already.  This year, soil preps began yesterday, March 11, 2012.
   Luke, Melissa and I spent most of the afternoon tilling some of our garden expansion area.  There's nothing like a hand tiller to find lots of rocks and roots!  All of the rocks are making a nice border around the maple tree at the edge of the garden. This will help keep me from killing it by whacking off the roots.
   Anyhow, all of the work that we did on Sunday effectively doubles the size of last year's garden. The net planting result will remain the same as we need to spread some of the bushier plants out some over last year (tomatoes) so I can get through them without breaking them off.
   Last fall we had several stumps removed and added on to the fence to keep the deer out.  We thought that the work we were having done would leave us with a straight-forward, ready-to-till garden, but the landscaper we hired thinks that 2" is deep enough for a garden.  We were left with most of the roots and rocks still lurking just under the surface.  We had also talked about him running a rock hound through it, but when the time came he said "It isn't designed for that". I have heard that about various pieces of equipment from different folks since we first started clearing our garden 3 years ago.  I know that a tiller wasn't designed for that, but it helps to get the job done.
  But, I digress.  Our plans for this year will result in our garden being nearly 3 times as large as it was last year.  It sounds like a lot described this way, but it's not even a quarter of an acre. (An acre is 40,000 square feet: 200x200).  With all of our gardens added together we MIGHT reach an eighth of an acre this year.  We had enough space last year to raise all of the broccoli, green and yellow wax beans and beets that we needed, all but about 2 bushels of tomatoes (for 2 families), and enough pickles for 3 families.  We also grew some potatoes, onions, peas, garlic, lettuce, hot and sweet peppers, and carrots.  We plan to plant another 3 doz tomatoes and a few more hot and green peppers this year.  Things were a bit cramped though and I broke more than one plant trying to get between the rows.
   I have nasturtiums started on the basement windowsill (I hope I don't let them dry out like last year's parsley) and we're chomping at the bit to get some fresh greens planted in the greenhouse.