A Vitamin Boost for the Plants

I want to plant!

I'm actually late in getting plants into the ground. Some plants could've been in the ground weeks ago and some had to wait for the last frost date of April 14th. My work on Saturday was to get something planted!

It was too windy to mix more soil, so I rearranged the soil so that I had sections of the boxes full of soil and ready to plant.

Mom helped me get the garden marked so that I could see the square feet. We used stakes and twine.

If I had it to do over again, I would've put in the stakes before I put down the weed barrier. The weed barrier did not let the stakes through!

After shopping at Country Gardens for plants and seeds, Mom and I went home and planted tomatoes, peppers, chard, lettuces, cabbage, and kale. I also planted a blueberry bush in another place in my yard. (Don't worry, another bush will be planted soon so that the blueberries can cross pollinate.)

I followed Mel's guides on how many plants to put in each square--well, mostly. I did put marigolds in some empty squares even though those squares will likely be filled by the vegetables in a month or so. We'll have to watch and see!

There's another thing that I did that's not in Mel's book. I dipped the plants in 180 Plant Dip before transplanting them into the garden.

What is 180 Plant Dip? It's a boost for the plants. It's like giving the plants vitamins and something to help them absorb those vitamins.

I thought about using the analogy of caffeine--having your morning coffee (or Coca Cola, as is the case for me) to get your day off right--but caffeine is temporary and doesn't provide your body with nutrition. No, 180 Plant Dip is more like taking really good vitamins.

You can read about the 180 Plant Dip on the 180 Degree Farm's blog. Scott of the 180 Degree Farm made a batch for me. (Well, I bought the dip. The farm is a non-profit organization, so I gladly over-paid him.) The Plant Dip contains:

• well water
• fish emulsion
  Fish emulsion is a common fertilizer used in organic gardening. One thing I remember from learning about the first Thanksgiving is that the Native Americans taught the colonists to dig a deep hole to "plant" a fish, cover it with soil, and then plant corn seeds over the fish... Hmm... Seems they knew something that we have forgotten over the years!
• Ocean Trace
  Ocean Trace is an organic fertilizer from the sea, containing all 74 minerals contained in ocean water. When crops get a healthy dose of micro-nutrients, they are more nutritious, generally yield better, and are more resistant to pests. Learn more about Ocean Trace on the AG-USA web site.
• Rhizofuel
  Among Rhizofuel's benefits are Improved nutrient and water uptake and more efficient use of fertilizer and water--reduces need by 1/3. You can learn more about Rhizofuel on their web site. 

I followed Scott's directions. Here's what I did.

1. Wore plastic gloves because the fish emulsion is stinky! My husband gave me a good tip--cuff the gloves so that if I lift my arms, the liquid does not go up my arm and onto my clothes.
2. Stirred the 180 Plant Dip because the ingredients will settle to the bottom.
3. Tipped the plant over and tapped the bottom so that the pot would come off easily.
4. Dipped the roots into the 180 Plant Dip for at least 10 seconds. I have to admit that I usually dipped for 15 seconds, especially for the peppers because their potting soil looked so dry.
   
5. Let the root ball drain for a bit so that I could transfer it into the garden with very little Plant Dip getting on the path where it would be wasted.
   
6. Planted in Mel's Mix. I started using a trowel to make a hole in the soil, but then I realized that Mel's Mix is so light and airy that I didn't need a trowel, so I just used my hands.
   
7. I also "watered" the vegetables with the 180 Plant Dip.

Below is a picture of the tomatoes planted with some marigolds in the back garden.



And the peppers are in the front garden on the west side:

And I planted lettuces, cabbage, kale, and Swish chard (which is like spinach) from seed in the front garden on the east side. In two weeks, I'll plant more lettuces. And two weeks after that, even more lettuces and so on.



Next step? Mix more soil, finish marking square feet, and finish planting!