Hi I'm Erin.
Every year around May 10th the big garden is seeded with crops like carrots, beets,
kohlrabi and more.
This year we're behind schedule but the work still needs done.
In fact, all the gardens are behind schedule.
But just like the saying it's better late then never and after the majority of the seeds
are in the ground it's one item to be checked off the do to list on Our Wyoming Life.
May 10th is my target planting date for our first outside planting of the year.
Roots crops and lettuce, potatoes and onions can all go in the ground then.
Warm weather seeds like corn and summer squashes usually wait until around the 25th or so to
be planted.
This year I managed to get the potatoes, onions in the ground on schedule along with some
zinnia seeds.
The first row when you walk into the garden this year will be beautiful zinnia's that
we can use at our Farm to Table dinner for decorations.
The bees will also really like the zinnia's.
So right around May 10th I was right on schedule for outdoor planting.
And then things didn't go as planned.
I was out of town for a few days.
The high tunnel construction project took priority.
And the kids had to finish up school so we had field day and ice cream field trips and
preschool graduation to attend.
Things were busy around the ranch but the garden was just sitting.
Finally, on May 25th and 26th I was able to get the first half of the garden seeded.
And then the rain happened.
Which is a huge blessing for the ranch and for the hay situation but once again the gardens
are put on hold.
I'm still not back in the garden.
It's muddy but starting to dry.
Hopefully tomorrow we will be back to planting and can get everything in the outdoor gardens
here in a few days.
Let me show you what I have managed to get done.
The first thing that I notice when I head into the garden to start planting is that
there are weeds growing already.
We tilled several weeks ago and of course the weeds are growing.
Luckily, we have the Hoss wheel hoe with the 12inch oscillating hoe attachment.
It's basically a giant stirrup hoe.
It can be run up and down the unplanted ground to pop out the very tiny weeds that are coming
up.
This way we temporarily hold off the weeds while the seeds are germinating.
The first seeds that will be planted today are the lettuce and radishes.
If you remember back to when I was ordering seeds in February I talked about planting
everything in 30-inch-wide beds.
The beds get measured out and string marks the width and length for us.
3 rows of lettuce can be planted in the 30-inch bed.
Lettuce seed is very fine and somewhat difficult to seed.
It is just one of the seeds that has to be done by hand.
A hoe is used to dig a vey shallow trench, lettuce seed is sprinkled in and then the
hoe is used to bury the tiny seeds.
Now it's time for the radishes and here's where things start to get a lot easier and
faster.
Seeding row after row of root crops used to take me a huge amount of time.
Now I can do it in just a few uninterrupted hours with the help of an amazing tool.
The earthway garden seeder makes the job go super quick.
Just put in the correct seed plate, dump the seed in and push it up and down the garden.
The first seed we will plant with the earthway seeder is radishes.
Once the seeder is loaded up we head into the garden and can put the seed in the ground.
It very simple to use the seeder.
You just push it.
It digs the trench, deposits the seed and buries it while you walk.
You can even mark out your next row with the adjustable row marker.
I find that the seeder doesn't work great with lettuce and that's why I still hand
seed it.
But for a majority of the root crops it gets used.
And so, I continue seeding.
Carrots go in the next bed.
Two rows of orange carrots are planted and one row of purple carrots are planted.
After using the seeder for several years I have found that on low germinating crops like
carrots it's beneficial to go over the rows 2 or 3 times with the seeder.
Carrots typically only have 80-90% germinating on most varieties and for some reason carrots
are hard to germinate here.
People always ask why didn't my carrots come up.
Some years they come up great and other years no carrots can be found at farmers market.
So I over compensate in the seeding and go over the rows several times until all the
seed I want deposited into beds has been run through the seeder.
If I do have leftover seed just tip the seeder and dump the seed back into the container
it came in.
As I move along in the garden I always make sure to pound in stakes to mark my beds.
I also use my phone to record what order stuff has been planted in.
This helps me when it comes time to weed and to check for germination.
It's helpful to know what little tiny seedlings I'm looking for in each row.
Up and down the garden I go.
Pushing my earthway seeder back and forth.
I plant Kale, Rainbow Chard, Dill, 3 kinds of beets and turnips.
Once I get to about the halfway point in the garden I'm pretty much done for now.
And that's where the garden sits.
Halfway planted.
Tomorrow I'm back at it planting summer squashes, zucchini, cabbages, broccoli and
so much more.
A majority of the unplanted garden half will have landscape fabric laid down to help with
weed prevention.
Hopefully we don't have too much wind for the next few days and everything can get settled
in and not blown around.
I would highly recommend purchasing an earthway seeder if you do any direct seeding in your
garden.
Your garden doesn't have to be this big.
If it's even 15 or 20 feet long I would get one.
It makes things go so much easier then using a hoe and digging trenches.
I truly enjoy using the earthway seeder.
And no this video isn't sponsored.
I've used the seeder for years before we made videos and I've always recommended
it.
If you do decide to buy one I have included an Amazon link in the description and if you
purchase the seeder through that link the channel will get a few dollars and we thank
you for that purchase!
We have a ton of work to do around here.
We're going on vacation in not that many days and I would love for the gardens to be
planted, the high tunnel done and planted and Mike needs to get ready for branding.
Make sure to subscribe and hit the bell notification so you get to see all this crazy amount of
work happen.
We also have an amazing giveaway happening for a Flir one pro.
Link is in the description and also on our Facebook page.
Make sure you get entered for that before the giveaway ends.
If you didn't notice I also have a cold.
It's summer time and I have a cold and I have a to do list that seems never ending.
For some reason I wait all winter for this time of the year.
It's not that fun this year.
I ain't got time to be sick!
Mike has a new ranch video for you guys on Sunday and as always thanks for joining me
in Our Wyoming Life.
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