Remove the carcasses! Prepare the soil!

MVG full of veggie carcasses

I spent some time preparing the main garden for this season's crops. There was lots to do and I had little time to spare. I was able to get the entire main garden ready in five hours with the help of my dad, the lawn mower, and our trusty rototiller.

 Phase I: Clearing and Trimming

First, clean out the garden beds. I pulled up all of last season's veggie skeletons and placed them in the grass.

Second, I forked the soil in the garden beds. This allows me to see and pull up any roots I may have missed while giving the soil a quick aeration.

Third: I pruned back all of our herbs. The herb garden grew out of control this winter. The rosemary, oregano, and sage plants were huge. I want fresh tender shoots this season so I trimmed down the herbs to the base. The plants look dead but they will grown back. I try to prune down herbs at the beginning of the spring and fall seasons. All trimmings were placed on the grass.

Phase II: Compost

 

TO THE COMPOST BINS! My dad does a wonderful job making homemade compost from their kitchen scraps and yard clippings. This makes my job very easy. I just fill up the wheel barrow with compost and shovel it into the garden beds. I used two full compost bins worth of compost in the garden beds.

Weeks before starting the MVG preparations, my dad placed piles of leaves on the dirt where we plant our corn field. The leaves break down quickly and help keep weeds at bay during the winter months. Plus, the extra nutrients from the leaves will help prepare the soil for the planting of seeds and plants.

Phase III: Mixing, mixing, rototillin'

First, I mixed up each garden bed. I want to make sure the compost was fully integrated into last season's soil.

Second, I added additional garden soil on top of the freshly mixed soil and hosed everything down. The MVG falls prey to many intruders (bean robbers, renegade squirrels, and alien invasions). The layer of top soil protects the rich mixture below in the event an intruder decides to dig or nest in the freshly made garden beds.

Third, my dad brought out of storage our small yet powerful rototiller. We mixed up the leaves and soil in the corn field. The leaves kept the ground soft and moist (not wet) which made the tilling process quick and easy.

MVG before preparations

MVG after preparations

Phase IV: Clean up!

Cleaning off the dirt from the rototiller blades and the garden tools is important but I had a huge pile of plant carcasses on the grass. With my dad's trusty lawn mower and some gardening sheers, we chopped and mowed down the dried plants and fresh herb clippings in 20 minutes. All of the waste was then dumped into the empty compost bins.

The main garden is ready for plants and seeds. We just received our shipment of plants and seeds from Burpee and are mapping out where to plant each item. Now for the fun part... planting, watering, pickings, and EATING!

MVG open for business!