Capitol Tilth

I hear non-linear stories are all the rage these days; also, my brain tends to be quite scattered, going back to topics of conversation long after everyone else has moved on. So, I'm briefly fast forwarding to today, where my very first direct-sown seeds are coming up in my salad bed. That would be bed number '1' from the large octo-planter (octo things are also all the rage these days, I hear).

I planted radishes, carrots, beets, onions, a mix of lettuces, and a bunch of kale. I read some book about companion planting, and supposedly, all these plants like each other or are at a minimum, indifferent. I really like the idea of companion planting, but I not certain it actually makes a difference or matters that much, in general. Certainly some things should not be grown next to each other, and, like the '3 sisters', there are cases where there is a true symbiotic relationship between plants. But in general, I don't know. I'd love to see some experiments be run on these kinds of things, but for now, I guess I'll rely on the wisdom and experience of others, and science be damned. At a minimum, the lists of plants that like each other at least give me some framework to solve the planning of my garden, which is otherwise an N-P complete problem for me - which is just to say, I would need to consider every possible configuration before deciding what to plant where, and that would take longer than the entire growing season.

I planted everything underneath a floating row cover, which is kind of like a security blanket for your plants. They can breath through it, stay warm, and get all the sun they need, but it keeps bugs and other scary things out, supposedly. I'm going to need to re-cut it though, which sucks, because it's moderately expensive. I tried to go with a one-piece, but I either need to actually sew some pieces together, or go with a three piece, due to my 'innovative' octo-design.

Anyway, I should be eating out of my garden in a month!