Spring Planting Underway!!!

On Sunday, we began planting the annuals in earnest. I had acquired a stock of seed potatoes of the Rotten, Golden Wonder, and Kennewick varieties. These spuds, I quickly planted about 3 inches deep within garden bed 6(the newest) and both containers. Potatoes, being asexual clones, are highly susceptible to diseases. Thus they should either be planted within clean soil or have at least a 3 year rotation before being replanted within the same ground. Using this model, the first 4 garden beds, being planted with potatoes within the last 2 years, are unsuitable for further potato production this year. Another matter of importance is that of having multiple breeds of the same crop. Many breeds of the same species ensures genetic diversity. And genetic diversity is possibly nature's greatest defense against diseases and pests, because quite simply, no disease can completely wipe out a highly multifarious plant population.

The onion family was next, these I mostly planted in bed number 4. First, I planted a sub-breed of the common California garlic, known for it's large white cloves. Next, I choose French Yellow onions and Belgian Red Onions. These two varieties are known for their disease resistance, and of course their multiple functions. The leaves and stems of the plant are edible as cut and come again scallions, while the root bulbs are the actual onions harvested in the fall. Finally, I planted additional Asiatic green onion chives along the edges of garden beds 1 and 2. I already have more than enough green onions growing in the wild, but this planting isn't just for food. The point is to inject more new genes into the wild onions' gene pool, thus strengthening the plant's hold on my backyard environment.

Garden beds 1 and 2 were planted with 2 continues crops of heavy feeders(potatoes and corn). Thus, the soil would be quite depleted of vital resources such as nitrogen and phosphate. Because of this, I decided to plant both beds with peas to rebuild the richness of the soil. Legumes fixes nitrogen through their roots, making the soil more fertile over time. Yet another reason is a potential defense against the dreaded Japanese Beatles. We know that the bugs reach a reproductive apex in July before quickly expiring in early August. While at the same time, the peas would be naturally dying out in July(due to heat) as a second set of pole beans grow over the pea plants. Thus, it may be possible for the bugs to feed upon the heat damaged peas after the plant has lived past it's lifecycle. This would create a permanent niche for both the beetle and the peas, while saving the rest of my garden from devastation.

I chose 3 varieties: snow peas, sugar-snap peas, and wally peas. Each of the sub-breeds is slightly different, the sugar snap has a higher concentration of sugar, the snow peas tolerate lower temperatures better, while the wally peas have a hard protective shell. These minute genetic differences should suffice for some of these peas to survive a hard onslaught of pests. I planted these seeds and set down bamboo stakes as a support trellis.