Gardening in Virginia – Creating a No Dig Garden

May 12, 2021gardenno dig garden, plant a garden, virginia gardenarthurized Leave a comment

One of my goals last year was to reclaim our old vegetable garden, an area of the yard that we let go back to lawn several years ago. Very honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it. Our soil is heavy clay and a pain in the butt to dig and amend. A daunting chore to say the least.

Then we discovered Charles Dowding’s (we’ll call him Uncle Charlie) no-dig method of creating planting beds. Go ahead and fall down that rabbit hole. I’ll wait right here for you.

Excited about the prospect of creating a large garden without having to excavate it, we ordered a truckload of compost. We needed six cubic yards of compost for our 20′ x 24′ garden. We’d already planted our asparagus babies in a trench, so we included enough compost to begin filling that in.

With No Dig, the process for creating a garden is the same regardless of the garden size.

You’ll need:

Uncoated, unbleached, brown cardboard – remove all plastic labels, tape, etc.
Compost – calculate how much you’ll need to cover your garden to a depth of four inches, subtracting paths between rows
Mulch of some sort to cover pathways – we used wood chips
Seeds or transplants

Place a single layer of brown, uncoated cardboard down over the planting area.

2. Leaving room for paths if necessary, cover the cardboard with compost to a depth of four inches. Firm up the compost by walking on it.

3. Place mulch over cardboard in the pathways.

4. Start planting directly into the compost.

Really! It’s just that simple.

Some of the benefits of no dig are:

Compost beds don’t compress like soil. You can walk on them, and work in the garden when it is wet. Compost doesn’t stick to your gardening shoes/boots like soil does.

Weeding is easy. Just dig or pull the odd weed that pops up in the beds. To keep the paths weed-free, simply place cardboard over the weed(s) and mulch over top. Repeat this process as often as needed until you’ve successfully killed the weeds. Uncle Charlie says no weed is inexhaustible, it takes about four layers of cardboard and mulch to kill tenacious weeds.

There’s no need to amend with soil. Each year, add a 1″ layer of fresh compost to the planting beds. The compost feeds the soil, and earthworms do the “tilling” for you!

We created this garden last July and immediately planted some of our fall crops of carrots, cucumbers and corn, leaving room for radishes, kale and several varieties of lettuce.

If you’ve wanted to start a garden, I hope you’ll give this no-dig method a try! Leave me a note in the comments below if you do. I’d love to hear from you.

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Gardening in Virginia – Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

January 29, 2020gardenbaker creek heirloom seeds, heirloom seeds, no dig garden, southern gardenerarthurized Leave a comment

With snow in the forecast, I’m doing a little garden planning and researching new varieties of plants. I’ll re-visit some trusty, old favorites and try a few that will be a bit of a stretch for this gardener. Thanks to a Christmas gift card from my sister, Anna, here’s what I ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. (I’m not in partnership with them, I just like their products and think you will too!)

I’ve ordered from BCHS for several years now and have always been pleased with the quality of their seeds and the accuracy of order fulfillment. I can’t speak to their customer service response, because I haven’t needed them for any reason. Having said that, they seem to go above and beyond. Even the shipping materials are attractive and they included a fun surprise with my order.

Genovese Basil – This Italian classic has large leaves, perfect for summer salads, pasta sauces and pesto. It’s great for use in monsters, too.

Thai Holy Basil “Kaprao” – Tulsi tea is a favorite, so I’ll try my hand at dehydrating the leaves for caffeine free herbal tea. Holy Basil plant is insect repellent as well.

Marvelous Mix Mint – Can’t have enough of this! Mint attracts beneficial insects and repels pests. We like to add mint to cold drinks in the summer, and use it in salads like Ina’s tabbouleh. (I substitute quinoa for the bulghur wheat to make this gluten free.)

Yes, mint has a reputation for spreading aggressively, but we plant it in areas of the yard where it can run and we contain it by mowing.

Broad Leaf Sage – I’ve never grown sage before, but we like it dried in savory dishes like Turkey Herb Stuffing-Style Riced Cauliflower.

Milkweed – Pollinators love this stuff and we have a low area of the yard where this can self-seed and spread. My mother-in-law grew milkweed to attract monarch butterflies to her yard. These seeds are currently chillin’ in the fridge.

Giant of Italy Parsley – This herb is my absolute favorite, we use it in soups, salads, and as a garnish on chicken and fish dishes. Despite being an annual, it’s frost hardy. This picture was taken in mid-January, the last of the harvest.

Mary Washington Asparagus – I’m going where gardeners fear to tread with this one. I have no experience growing asparagus, and we don’t have the rich soil for it, but I’m going to give it the old college try. I’ll amend our Virginia clay soil with loads of compost and manure. Note to self: Choose the right spot for this plant, it could grow for 20 years there.

Gypsy Sunshine Marigold – While I don’t enjoy the scent of marigolds, they are almost universally beneficial companion plants. We’ll intersperse these beauties throughout the garden and herb garden.

Munstead Strain Lavender – Ditto on the lavender. I don’t care for the scent, but it’s a solid companion plant, pretty to look at and tasty to eat.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds sent a pack of surprise seeds with my order – Dark Purple Opal Basil. The packaging features a fetching hipster dude wearing a basil fascinator tucked behind his right ear. If I’m not mistaken, that means he’s available and approachable. I’ll leave that to you, single ladies.

I’m excited to try this variety, and I have no doubt this basil will grow beautifully in the herb garden.

I can’t wait to get my hands in the dirt. Now, it’s your turn! What are you looking forward to planting this year?

Gardening in Virginia – Seed Savers Exchange

January 22, 2020gardengarden, garden planning, no dig garden, seed order, seed savers exchange, seedsarthurized Leave a comment

My seed orders are in! Each Christmas my sister is so kind to send us a gift certificate to Seed Savers Exchange. I love to see what’s new each year and order seeds that we couldn’t source locally. (This post is not sponsored by Seed Savers Exchange. I simply enjoy their products and I think you might too!)

We’re long-time customers of Seed Savers Exchange and have been very pleased with the selection and quality of their seeds. I’ve never interacted with customer service, because the orders have always been accurately fulfilled.

I love that SSE shares the history behind the seeds. To think that some of these seeds were handed down within families for generations or tucked away and forgotten for decades!

Delaway Kale – We buy a ton of organic kale and use it in salads and soups all year long. I chose this variety because it is a fall crop with relatively smooth leaves. (I don’t enjoy the texture of curly kale; it’s like munching on a Brillo pad) As a bonus, this kale has an Irish provenance.

Bouquet Dill – We use dill when it is in season and freeze it for use in salads and dips, especially tzatziki.

Diamond Eggplant – I haven’t grown eggplant in several years, but I love it studded with garlic and roasted or in my favorite roasted eggplant dip.

Sea Shells Cosmos Mix – I chose this because it’s pretty! These little sun-lovers tolerate poor soil and drought. I’ve never grown cosmos before, but I have a few bare areas of the yard to beautify.

Petite Yellow Watermelon – This little icebox variety is just right for a family of two. Watermelon is our go-to summertime dessert, we just can’t get enough.

Red Velvet Lettuce – Let’s get real, I chose this for it’s bold color. How pretty will this be on the plate?!

Winter Density Lettuce – Cold tolerant, slow to bolt, imported from England; what’s not to love?

Parris Island Cos Lettuce – In addition to kale, we go through a ton of romaine around here. I’m interested to see if this variety will tolerate a little late spring heat.

Glass Gem Corn – So, my sister Anna bullied me into buying this seed. Just kidding, she said I should give it a try. And I figured, why not? Mark has experience growing corn, although we’ve never dried it for popping. We’ll give it a whirl. Gardening is one giant experiment, right?

What are you planting this year?

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