Garden Update: Starts and Seeds are in!

This last week we finally got our starts and seeds in the ground. The Urban Gleaners team spent a morning shopping and agonizing over which items to get at Portland Nursery. We inspected the vegetable starts with time-consuming scrutiny until we were sure we had the most vibrant and vigorous. For seeds we purchased Renee’s Garden brand, with the guarantee that they were organic and GMO free. With the Portland Nursery Discount card, we brought our total purchase down by 30%! Now that’s a price that fits our non-profit budget.

Over the next few days, dodging the intermittent hailstorms, we managed to plant all our seeds and starts. The week started by laying the groundwork: spreading a healthy amount of Dolomite (Lime), Sulfur and Bone Meal, which is a rich source of Nitrogen. After letting the amendments saturate the soil, we turned it once more to prepare the beds for planting. Then the inevitable rain turned the soil to a thick paste, and despite warnings against working wet soil we slugged ahead, feeling the impending last days of the planting season.

As we planted the starts, our thoughts couldn’t help but linger on the dual nature of plants. At one extreme, their delicacy and vulnerability; the care and nursing they need and how the first frost can ravage a whole colony. At the other extreme, their stridency and durability to propagate despite unfriendly weather and soil. We were consoling ourselves that these starts will survive despite enduring the clumsy and oafish attempts . . .

And now begins the months of angst and inner turmoil for the farmers as they watch the plants struggle against the inclement weather.

So the final planting menu is as follows: In box 1 and 2, we planted Walla Walla onions and Red Russian kale. Box three is devoted entirely to peas, both Sugar Snap peas and Bush peas. Box 4 is chalk full of Chioggia beets and Pixie cabbage. Box 5 is devoted to Snacking carrots and more Walla Wallas. Through the grace of our landlord (who doubles as the Urban Gleaners executive director), we managed to eek out two more garden beds. In these surprise plots we planted red potatoes, Chioggia beets, kohlrabi, and spinach, kale.

The danger of the farmer is to wax poetic about their vegetables. There is nothing quite so curious or inspiring as spreading seed and watching it turn into food. And here I will stop myself. Over the next few months I will keep a photo journal that will speak for itself over the transformative nature of the garden.