Let Us Have Lettuce

Spring has begun. Officially. So here goes: above the beds full of leaves, grass clippings and dirt.

Last year's yard waste filled the beds about 80%, but I figured that one or two inches of real soil would be a nice nest for my seeds. You can see the way that my FIL constructed PVC pipes into a frame above each bed. I'll use that to drape landscape fabric in case of bad weather, or netting when the blueberries set fruit, etc.

Ok, so above the beds filled with soil. I used about 4.5 cubic feet (3 bags) of a soil mixture that contains all the good stuff (vermiculite, perlite, compost, etc.).

So here's what's in there. On the south end, all the way across the bed (ie, 2 square feet), Cascadia sugar snap peas. Just north of that, 4 square feet of loose leaf lettuce (Red Velvet, Red Sails, and Navara Red. I realized, too late, that I only buy red lettuces.). In the final two square feet, on the north end of the bed (closest to you in the picture), on the left Charlotte red chard and on the right Teton spinach.

In the orange bed, on the south end I planted two square feet of Oregon Giant snow peas. North of that are two square feet of romaine lettuces (both Little Gem). The last four square feet are butterheads (Four Seasons, Buttercrunch, and Speckles).

On both beds I tossed in a few tiny, tiny Johnny JumpUp seeds (violets!). Because...flowers.

There are 2 beds left. One will be carrots, then other things (tomatoes and peppers later). The last box has the two blueberry bushes, and will hold herbs once it's warm enough (ie, May).