It’s been a busy week in the garden!
In the Root Bed, things are starting to come to life! My skirret, radishes, and quite a few beets are beginning to sprout. I’m also seeing some activity in the Main Garden Bed, with lamb’s lettuce and spinach making an appearance, along with a single orach sprout and several little chervil seedlings.
I’ve also planted tatsoi, Claytonia (miner’s lettuce), and mizuna. Those will be my final plantings in the raised beds for this year. Now I get to sit back, watch everything grow, and hopefully enjoy some fresh greens and root vegetables throughout the colder months.
I’ve also started preparing the hillside for my Shady Woodland Garden. I purchased a seed mix containing a wonderful variety of woodland wildflowers, grasses, sedges, and rushes. Rather than clearing the entire hillside, I’m working in small, scattered sections, leaving much of the existing vegetation and natural habitat undisturbed. I want to preserve the little ecosystems already living there while creating a woodland garden that looks as though it developed naturally.
I’m planning to place a few logs throughout the hillside to add some character and provide additional habitat for wildlife. I’m also considering adding mushroom-inoculated logs so I can grow my own edible mushrooms right there in the woodland garden.
My goal isn’t to turn the hillside into a perfectly manicured garden. I want it to be a natural, slightly wild space where native plants, fungi, insects, and other little creatures can thrive together. I’m excited to see how it develops over the coming seasons!