The adventures of gardening in a community allotment!
- May – Planting in the Garden Allotment
Our first venture out in the COVID-19 environment was to a garden Nursery! It went very well, the nursery had a very well executed protection/sanitary system in place, and I was able to get 8 tomato plants, and 6 pepper plants. I planted them right away that day.
From the nursery right into the ground. 
Planting seeds Planting at the allotment In the next week I planted seeds directly into the well-turned soil with added composed. Herbs, parsley, cilantro, sage, chives, thyme, basil. Leeks, fennel, florentine onions, green beans, peas, wax beans, summer squash, and zucchini.
Diagram of my garden allotment - April – Seed Germination, a learning experince!
There is much to learn about germinating seeds. With this, I think the first-hand experience can work best! I carefully planted the seed by type in rows. I placed the trays on warming pads. Soil temperature was registering in the mid-seventies to low eighties. I watered directly into the tray, underneath the growing medium, not directly on to the seedings fearing they would break. This seemed to work well. A light fog formed on the domes, indicating good humidity.
The seeds sprouted very well, but then they quickly got taller and taller and in just a few days started falling over. Why? The window I had them in, was a North facing window and the light wasn’t intense enough, so they stretched towards the light, making them “leggy”. I transplanted them into separate pots, but only a few survived. Several tomato plants have survived, some zucchini, cucumbers, but none of the peppers.
It was difficult taking the seedlings out of the growing medium without breaking them. Only a very few survived the transfer to small pots. The next time I’ll use the plug type starter system, one seed per plug. I was able to plant the lettuce seedlings in a planter. They struggled for a while, but then rapidly grew.
Lettuce seedlings taking off! OLD SEEDS – While most of the seeds I planted did germinate, some did not. The seeds that did not germinate were the older seeds. Packages that were 3 or 4 years old. I thought I would give them a try! In the future, I won’t do this again, as it takes to much effort to prepare the soil in the garden, to have the seeds not germinate. I will now plant some other seeds in the space, but they have to be plants that have a short growing season.
- March – Gardening in a Community Garden Plot
March- The beginning
This February, after two years on the waiting list, I received an email congratulating me on the assignment of a community garden allotment! They gave me a choice as to which size plot I wanted, 200, 400, or 800 sq.ft. In the past I would have gone right for the 800; but now post 65, I decided that 200 sq. ft. was enough for me. And, after prepping the soil, I’m glad I did!
Congratulations – you have a community garden plot! 
Looks like compacted grasy soil 🙁 
Hand tilling, harder than it looks, when your 65+. . 
Tilling compacted soil by hand with a garden spade…ouch! 
Pulling out grass with long roots takes time. 
A garden fork makes tilling the soil easier than a spade. 
Progress stead bt slow. 
I had to call in the reserves in order to turn over soil. 
Start making planning beds. 
Planting beds almost done. 
Feeding the soil with compost. 
Motorized tiller makes light work of turning over soil for planting. The next time for sure!
Tilling densely compacted soil – This plot had not been worked for over a year, and the soil was very compacted and had lots of grass growing in it. The grass had roots that were dense and deep. My enthusiasm took over and I decided to just jump right in and begin turning over the soil by hand. I started using a garden spade but eventually figured out that using a garden fork was much more efficient to use. It went into the ground with less effort and loosened the soil with fewer motions. Turning the soil with a garden spade resulted in big chunks of earth that then had to be chopped up, utilizing more motions and energy!
Using the garden fork, while easier, wasn’t easy enough for out of shape over 65 me! I had to call in the reserves. They were able to finish tilling in an hour. This extreme effort will not have to be repeated next spring, as I will keep the soil loose and composed. In the future, if I have to do this again, I’ll choose the smarter way to do it; by renting a small motorized tiller. You can rent one from a local farm or building center for about $50 a day!
