Seeds are sprouted

Melons, a few cucumbers and micro greens are up!
The experiment is working so far. The seeds on the mulched sides are coming up faster.

Experiment

So i'm trying an experiment because I haven't been able to find any definitive information. I have yet to find good step by step instructions on how to plant seeds. My dilemma has always been when to mulch and thin out plants. I have a lot of oak trees around my house so every fall I start stocking up and make my own leaf mold and use it as compost and mulch. I bought a TroyBilt 120BV blower from Lowes several years ago for $40. It is a great little machine because it comes with a bag attachment that allows you to suck and shred the leaves into the bag which makes a mixture that is perfect for composting and mulching. But I digress... My experiment: I mulched have of the garden with my leaf mold mixture and left the soil exposed on the other half to see if the seeds would sprout faster on one side. My theory is that if the seedling still come up through the mulch that they will be better protected since it's hard to mulch around a seedling.

Day One

Ok, so this blog is really just for me to keep track of what I do in the garden so I can reference it later, but feel free to check in and see how things are growing.

We had a bit of a dud last quarter. I think it was due to a lack of organic matter in the new dirt that I got for the raised bed. So a couple weeks ago I incorporated all of my compost into the beds, let them rest, and planted today. It's a little early for some of the items we planted, but I think it'll be ok. I had some lettuces start coming up from the seeds I planted last quarter (...no idea) so I left that part of the bed intact and added some five color swiss chard and spicy micro greens. Here's the list of what went in today:

Plants
Tomato (Juliet) - 60 Days
Pepper (Anaheim) - 74 tp 80 Days

Seeds
Watermelon (Heirloom Moon and Stars) - 95 Days
Cantelope (Heirloom Muskmelon Hearts of Gold) - 75 Days
Honey Dew (Sweet Delight PVP) - 90 Days
Butternut Squash (Waltham) - 100 Days
Basil (Genovese Italian)
Swiss Chard (Five Color Silverbeet) - 52 Days
Micro Greens (Spicy Mix) - 25 Days
Cucumber (Japanese Soyu Burpless) - 65 Days
Squash (Heirloom Scallop Patty Pan Blend) - 55 Days
Squash (Heirloom Early Prolific Straightneck) - 45 Days

Things that are still in the garden
Cilantro
one Kale
several kinds of lettuce
multiplying onions
nasturtiums
mesclum
strawberries

After everything was planted I broadcast Medina Soil Activator over the entire garden...then it rained...yeah!

I've got my drip irrigation system set up and hopefully I can get my rain barrel set up before we get to far into spring. We should see sprouts in the next 5 to 10 days.