As temperatures dip tonight to fifteen degrees its a pleasure to look at all my little seedlings waiting patiently for last week’s

Pressing seed blocker into moistened seed starting mix.

tease of balmy weather to be more consistent.  Different vegetables thrive under different growing conditions. Most members of the cabbage (Brassicaceae) family are cool weather crops and need to be multi-leaved young plants when they are set out in mid April. Broccoli and Cabbage should be started indoor as early as 12 weeks before our average last frost date of May 15 so they have enough time to come to maturity before the hot weather arrives and they become toast.  Many of the veggie members of the Nightshade  or Tobacco family (Solanaceae) such as peppers, eggplants and tomatoes are tender, warm weather vegetables that require a longer growing season than our New England climate can provide. Time  is running out for starting pepper and eggplant seedlings as require a 9 week head start when they are planted around Memorial Day. The time for planting tomato seeds is around April 1.

Putting pressure on the seed block compresses the soil into 2" square soil cubes.

This year at New Eden, we invested in a couple of soil blockers to make our own dirt seed blocks. I used some left over seed starting mix and they held together quite well until I left a few out in last weeks deluge .

Charlotte Dion, our Permaculture expert and all around garden mentor, recommends Eliot Coleman’s ( 4 Season Gardening) seed starting mix:

Mix together

2 10-quart buckets of sustainable peat or choir, 1/2 cup lime, and 2 cups of azomite (mineral rich, volcanic ash).

Add

2 10-quart buckets  of sand, 2 more buckets of peat or choir, 1 cup of phosphate, 1 cup of greensand, 1 cup of bloodsandmeal and 1 more cup of azomite.

Mix well and add

My first soil block. See her little dimple for placing the seed? Isn't she cute?

1 10-quart bucket of compost and 1 bucket of soil and mix again. Add water until soggy and start making blocks.

This sounds like an amazing  formula for uber seedlings. I’m going to try this next year.

While the brassicas like cooler temperatures to  germinate like the 50’s and 60’s. Peppers and Eggplants like it warm into the higher 70’s and 80’s. To get the warmer tempatures I put my nightshades by the furnace and cover them in a plastic bag so they do not dry out. Keeping seeds in plastic till they sprout is one way to make sure they stay evenly moist. Make sure you look at them daily as seeds will sprout more quickly in room tempatures and you don’t want to” keep them in the dark” once they sprout.

After the seeds have sprouted, it is best to water your seedling from below so as not to drown your tender seedlings  to help avert the dreaded “damping off” fungus. Make sure that your seedlings get enough sunlight or at least 14 hours exposure via gro-lite or florescent lights at just a 6 inches above the plants to keep your seedlings from getting leggy.

Spring has arrived and with it the task of soil preparation for planting. If you have an established plot this could be as simple as sprinkling compost and minerals to rake in. If you’re new it will require a bit more work.

There’s lots of lively debate over the various methods used by both large and small growers. I hope my brief comparison of some of these methods will be helpful to you.

Plowing: When New Eden was first established the former meadow was turned under with a plow. This was appropriate initially to break up thick sod and compacted soil in a large area. It’s not necessary or desirable to plow again now that paths and garden plots are in place and the sod has been subdued.

Cons: Plowing damages soil structure and beneficial organisms that will not recover with repeated use. Topsoil is more susceptible to erosion with deep furrows. This technique uses petroleum fuels that release toxins into the air and surrounding soil. It also requires expensive equipment.

Double digging is promoted by Bio-Intensive growers as a means of creating deep, rich soil with human power rather than petroleum. It requires hand digging to a depth of 2 feet with the sub soil kept separate from the topsoil. Usually done in a raised bed which reduces or eliminates soil erosion. This is a great way to start a new bed in an area with compacted soil, large rocks, sod and weeds. It allows easy incorporation of organic matter and mineral supplements into the soil.

Cons:Soil structure is damaged along with beneficial organisms and mycelium, but they will recover and the double dig is only done once. It is a lot of work for those of us with older spines. Don’t try to double dig near trees or shrubs or you will lose the battle to the woody roots.

Broad fork also know as U - bar

Sheet Mulching is an ancient technique that requires no digging except to remove large rocks and persistent weeds such as witch grass. With this method raw compost, manure, seaweed etc is spread on the soil then covered with alternating layers of cardboard and more compostables along with mineral amendments.
This method works well in areas near tree and shrub roots.

Cons: It will take a few months for sheet mulched beds to get to optimal performance. Requires a lot of organic matter and carbon matter to make the initial beds.

Rototiller: Easy and fast way to chomp up a bit of soil.

Cons: Repeated use of a rototiller can create an impermeable hard pan at the level where the tines burnish the subsoil. This sort of tillage mixes subsoil into topsoil to the detriment of both . Petroleum fueled tillers don’t have an emissions standard so we won’t know what they might deposit on the garden beds. I would suggest a kinder and gentler tool for those with established plots…

The broadfork! Which has been promoted by such luminaries as Eliot Coleman and John Jeavons. This is a great human powered tool that we can all use to aerate and loosen the soil without doing damage to our micro system allies. It’s also easier to wield than other implements for those who might not want to dig too deep.

That’s enough for now except to wish you all happy digging!