Cheap clover seed - it lives!

I put out a few handfuls of the clover I bought last week two days ago - it's looking good so far!



Still have at least 48 pounds of seed left. :o)

2009-10-24 Farmer Adria's Report (with pictures!)

Here are a few pictures I took Thursday & Friday...

5 days after planting rye grass on the bottom terrace:


8 days after planting:


In a few more weeks the entire bottom terrace should be thick with rye. Their roots will extend deep into the soil, helping break up the clay hardpan.

Oh, does anyone have connections with the school landscape team? Could we ask them not to mow the actual garden area? The rye will grow tall and it may look like it needs to be cut, but we want to let it go till year. :o)


Here is the third terrace in between the square-foot plots & bee aivery. We'll put down clover here next week sometime. Hopefully it will take hold and keep the ground covered (and bees happy) till spring planting.


The terrace was chock full of stones, iron pipes and large chunks of asphalt. Most of the big pieces have been removed, but before next spring we'll have to pick out a few more.




Here's the top terrace after students planted last week. They decided to section off the area instead of using traditional rows, and added foot paths to walk around.





That's it for now - have a great weekend!

2009-10-22 Farmer Adria's Report

First, the gardens are looking good! Great job on getting the top terrace planted - hopefully the seeds will germinate & grow quickly!

So this afternoon I began preparing the last terrace for this season -- the long strip below the square-foot plots and above the bee boxes. As soon as our clover comes in we'll plant that and hope for the best. Some clover is already coming in on the plot furthest away from the road (under the pecan tree).

The rye I planted in the bottom terrace last week is just starting to turn green. The rain we had washed some of the seed into little piles, but there should still be enough there to get plenty of coverage.

I'm pretty excited about learning to keep bees. And maybe a little anxious.. I've only been stung by a honeybee once, but that was enough to learn not to irritate them (like by sitting on one while wearing shorts!).

2009-10-13 Farmer Adria's Report

We received over 2 inches of rain yesterday and the weather forecast is calling for that much if not more tomorrow. So, I drove by Ace & picked up a back of winter rye and spread out on the lower terrace late this afternoon. Hopefully most of it will stay in place during the storms tomorrow.

Rye is an annual grass with roots that can extend several feet below the surface - just what we need to help break up the clay below the plow tip. With a little sunshine after tomorrow, the lower terrace should be bright green by this time next week.

We've talked a little more about adding red clover to the garden in other areas, so it may be worth our while to try and sow more of it in the smaller terraces below the concrete block plots (after we mix in a little of the compost to help feed the clover).

That's it for now -- hope to have bee pics posted in a few days. :o)

2009-09-13 Farmer Adria's Report

We finally had a break in the rain so I drove by the DHS Community Garden to see how the clover Bruce planted was taking hold.

The soil isn't in the best condition now, so it's no big surprise that the cover wasn't taking root and growing as vigorously as we'd hoped. If we didn't touch this ground again for a few months, it would be right back where it was last month before we prepped -- hard as a brick! So, it is important that we continue working the soil by adding as much organic matter as possible. This will help provide nutrients for our cover crops later this year.



Here's the "back 40" :o)



This is the terrace below the existing raised bed plots. There are lots of rocks and brick still buried in the dirt in this plot.



Clover sprigs in the lower terrace (poking up between the bricks, metal poles, concrete blocks, pipes, ect :o) )



Looking up from the schoolyard entrance:


The reason why we created several terraces is to protect the soil from eroding during hard rains. If you've ever walked through the woods and wondered why there are so many evenly spaced ridges, or berms.. it's simple! Those woods weren't there 50 years ago. My grandparents owned a farm in what is now Hapeville - they grew a large garden of veggies, raised pigs and chickens and even had a cow. Where we see malls & shopping centers now, used to be pasture and fields of corn, beans and cotton. Farmers have used terraces (or berms) to conserve soil for as long as we've been farming.

Red clover in red clay!



Poor clover. Yes, the soil needs our attention. Hopefully we'll have compost delivered soon which we can begin working into this clay.