We planted beets, carrots, chard, parsnips, radishes and turnips in the kitchen garden today. We had a load of compost delivered earlier in the week and added a layer to each bed before planting the seeds. Now I need to remember to keep them watered along with the seedling starts inside. Directions say to keep the seedling starts moist and not soaked. I’m having a hard time discerning the difference. Along with the cabbages and collards I shared a couple posts ago, we have tomatoes, peppers and onions sprouting. I’m trying my hand at herbs, too, and the wormwood, hyssop, thyme and valerian have sprouted as well. Dave and Damian have been taking wheel barrel after wheel barrel of compost to both the kitchen and the barn garden. We are expanding the area under cultivation in the barn garden and it is really starting to shape up. We are not tilling because we’ve learned that is damaging to the soil. Basically, to make a bed we add a layer of cardboard and pine chips over the grass. Most of this was done last summer and fall. We didn’t get the whole area covered so now we are onto using a layer of newspaper instead. On top of this we put several inches of compost. This is a modified version of lasagna composting where you layer compostable material and let it sit for six months to a year before planting. We are too impatient for that! We have two compost piles but they aren’t heating up like they should so that is something we need to figure out.