Homesteading With Joe

By 

Joe Cowan

COO & Co-Founder

Dr. Cowan’s Garden

Garden Update: Vegetable Plants & Blossoms

All of the hard work over the fall and winter is really starting to pay off. The apple and pear blossoms are in full bloom. The earliest plant starts are up and growing well, and almost all 28 beds + six beds in the pumpkin patch are planted with a variety of seeds and seedlings. The process of soil preparation has been harrowing. Broad forking, raking, and cultivating each bed with compost was a significant challenge, the timing of which was crucial. I had to fit this in after the terrace walls were finished and the ground was fully thawed, but in time for pumpkins and other vegetables that require a long season.

The work is far from over for the year. We have a lot more planned in terms of adding infrastructure to our gardens, and the maintenance of the vegetables and fruit trees. Adding cobblestones and building up small retaining walls will add more structure and form to other areas on our property. Setting up a more permanent irrigation system will make watering easier and more efficient. And, of course, we need to add several more fruit trees.

If you have a garden, big or small, especially if it has a unique idea or feature, I would love to see and hear about it. The feedback and advice generated by our readers, as a result of these garden updates, are immeasurably useful and appreciated.