I’m almost done with planning for this year’s garden. I’ve got the plants and seeds ordered and have started cool season seeds. I’m getting ready to start the warm weather garden seeds this week and next. My garden plan for this year calls for fencing in the garden (to keep the chickens out) and growing edible flowers, vines and herbs in boxes and tires around the inside of the garden fence. Life is getting very busy very quickly. Oh, I forgot to say I’ve planted peas, spinach, kale, carrots, leeks, lettuce, and early flower seed.

For review and comments

<a href=’http://www.plangarden.com/app/index.php?userID=52385′ target=_blank alt=’My Vegetable Garden Plan’>My Garden Design</a>

http://www.plangarden.com/garden_pics/img/myGarden_52385.png

I retired several years ago and decided that I would have time to increase my garden but forgot my age! Wow! Should have thought it through a little more. Not as young as I used to be. Had to come up with tools and methods to compensate. Started a websit with info for senior gardeners and some helpful tools; www.gardeningforgeezers.com. Check it out.

Welcome.  Gardening is a journey, and any good journey needs a journal, so here’s mine.  This journey is about the transition from a full time worker, and business owner to a full time ‘retiree’, farmer, and artist.  This is as opposed to being a full time business owner, and part-time farmer and artist.  The ‘retiree’ designation seems to me to be just a lable used to indicate that I am no longer in the usual ‘workforce’.  I don’t expect much retiring to be done, except at the end of a long, hopefully wonderful, day.

So off we go to transform the farm we’ve been paying for for several years now, into the home farm we’ve been dreaming about for many years.  Actually, I’ve had the home farm dream most of my life. We’ll be planting vegetables, fruits, flowers, and occasional ideas. More tomorrow!

Signs are popping up all around the garden and basil sprouts are producing true leaves. What’s a “true” leaf? Look at the picture of our basil sprouts. The tiny leaves that have emerged in the center of the stem are true leaves. Once the sprouts have two sets of these leaves, we will help the plants “harden off” by moving them outside. What is hardening off? Check out this link from the local extension office to learn more about starting plants from seed and to expand your gardening vocabulary.

Even though thunderstorms forced 4Good alumni volunteers inside on Friday afternoon, we accomplished significant work! We transplanted over 300 basil seedlings, and painted bright and creative signs that will mark the garden. Keep following the WFUgarden Blog to see pictures of the garden signs in place and to track the growth of our basil plants.

The Campus Garden hosted about a dozen volunteers on Sunday afternoon during the Garden’s regular volunteer hours from 2:00-4:00pm. The volunteers planted more than 40 new heirloom tomato plants! Between the plants, marigold seeds were sown. Small plots of corn, squash, peppers, and okra were started from seed, and the hay bale garden was planted with pole beans, bush beans, and cucumbers.

Wake Forest Facilities installed some new toilet seats on campus, and the Campus Garden used the empty cardboard boxes as mulch. The cardboard mulch suppresses weed growth between rows and eliminates competition between weeds and produce for soil nutrients and water. With mulch in place, the Campus Garden plants will be healthier and more productive.

The Campus Garden is benefitting from free leaf mulch distributed by the City of Winston-Salem. The Campus Garden has used two loads this season to suppress weeds and condition the soil. A third load will be picked up soon. Every trip to the municipal compost facility fills my little Ford Ranger to overflowing. The first load, pictured, mounded above the cab before the tractor operator smashed it down with his enormous bucket. The most recent load tipped the scales at 1220 pounds. In addition to smothering weeds, mulch helps retain water around plants during the hot summer months and improves the quality of the soil as it decomposes.

The Campus Garden is preparing to host alumni, families, and friends on Friday, June 1st, for a volunteer work day. The day is part of 4Good, a weekend long program inspired by the Wake Forest motto Pro Humanitate. Volunteers will spend the afternoon planting summer crops, like okra, zucchini, and pole beans, and transplanting herb sprouts.

Prepared garden at home for Greens, Onion etc