2025 gardens

[roony]

I usually set a 10 or 12 ft board down and run the pointy hoe down the edge of that instead of using a line. I ordered that seeder. It should be fun to try something new.

[Dotch]

Have heard of it but haven't tried the sand method Barry. If I had a supply of sand I might try it just to see. It might be a challenge with some types of seed, especially things like the mesclun blend where the seed size & shape is variable.

Luckily I have a pretty light touch roony. As long as I keep the line taught & stay on the same side of it on every row, I manage to keep it pretty straight & the distance between the rows fairly accurate. The handles on my hoes & rakes are all marked with row spacings from 20" to 40". It becomes more like planting a test plot for me than gardening. About the only thing I don't do is the 3-4-5 triangle method with tapes to make square corners and sight down the line for accurate side & end lines like we used to do in the plots. Important for a test plot but a lot of monkeying around for a garden. I can mark out a new row with the line, make the seed trench, measure, move the stakes & pull the line tight for the next one. Seed the established seed trench, cover and firm the freshly seeded row then get on to establishing the next seed trench with the hoe. I picked up a new hoe for making the seed trench late last year but didn't get a chance to use it until this spring. So far, I like the way it behaved on the mellow, unworked ground. Now if it would just warm up above 40 - 50 degrees and not cover things up with snow for more than a couple days per week, something might actually start to grow.