Garden Transitions

Rejuvenated with compost and organic fertilizer, refreshed by the rain, raked and ready to plant.

After a raised bed of three cauliflower varieties finished in late January, I began to expeditiously plant what Seattle Urban Farm Company calls short-season crops.

“Short-season crops can be grown from seed or transplant to harvest stage in a short period of time (30 to 60 days). Because they have a short growing season, you can plant these crops several times over the course of the year. Examples include arugula, cilantro, lettuce, radishes and spinach.”

Shown here are dill, radishes, baby leaf rainbow chard, carrots, calendulas, lettuce, spinach and shallots.

Since the fall, I’ve done two succession sowings of spinach. With our cool, wet spring, I seeded another block near the recently planted mesclun lettuce and arugula. If temperatures soar in the next month I’ll use 40% shade cloth. Scallions, radishes and more lettuce will also fill the gaps left by removal of the broccoli in that raised bed. These crops will finish as I plant the corn in early June.

I’m inspired by French intensive gardening methods which optimize use of garden space by succession planting in raised beds with a focus on soil improvement, close spacing and interplanting.