My Spastic Garden
So I finally planted my plantlets today. kemidra and I went to the Clark Park Farmers Market today where I bought a bunch of tomatoes and herbs from the University City Garden Club. I returned home, donned my gardening gear, and went out to do the final preparations on the garden. I hoed out another adjacent area of weeds. I hoed and cultivated and turned and generally "aerated the soil," removing probably another 50 pounds of rocks and weeds. I added the bag of MiracleGro on top, and then I dug holes for each of my little plants. The soil is very clay-like and has lots and lots of rocks. I also saw quite a few earthworms, which I am guessing is a good sign. I cut a few in half with my hoe (sorry). I tried to plant everything pretty deep and put the MiracleGro on top.
Unlike my neighbors, I did not bother with neat little rows. I just tried to space the plants according to their needs. I have heirloom, beefsteak and grape tomatoes that need 1-2 feet between them. I am going to Home Depot later this week to get "tomato cages" so that their area of growth is contained.
The heirloom tomato came in a cardboard egg carton-like container. I planted it into the ground in its container, but I am thinking that maybe I should have taken it out? The other plants were in plastic containers and came out easily. I planted the watermelon, although it looked pretty dead.
I think next year, with advanced planning, I will go out early and kill all the weeds a few times with RoundUp. I think I will also get a self-contained garden bed and fill it with MiracleGro.