2018 Master Plan: The Patio Quadrant

We made our garden plan back in February, but I forgot to document it. I was reminded of this when we pulled out the plan to actually start planting. It hasn’t been warm — it’s snowing as I write this — but the ground has thawed and we can get started with our hardiest cool-weather plants.

The leeks we ordered came in the mail, so we had to get them in the ground. We bought transplants instead of doing them from seed this year, and they are about as big around as a pencil — much bigger than the tiny strings we’ve managed to get starting them on our own. These are much easier to work with, and I’m certain they’ll have a better survival rate than our tiny seedlings, so this looks to be a good investment. Behind the cold frame you can see a few of last year’s leeks — these are the stragglers we haven’t harvested yet.

Usually when we plant in March, we’re out of luck when it comes to compost. That’s because the City Yard doesn’t open until April and our pile is usually frozen. Not this year!  

The warm weather in February helped thaw everything out, and it’s now in usable condition, despite the cold weather we had in March. The stuff on top obviously hasn’t broken down yet, but the bottom half is chock-full of rich, dark compost. We had plenty to amend the beds we planted: Leeks, peas, spinach, and onions are in so far!

The leeks and peas are in the patio bed, as you can see in the plan:

As always, the left side of the patio bed is filled with perennial strawberries. These will stay exactly as they were last year, but next summer we’ll probably have to replace the oldest ones. Across the lower portion are perennial roses, rhubarb, and lavender. 

Across the top is a row of peas that will be trellised behind okra, hot and bell peppers, plus a small patch of basil. On the right side are the leeks, plus cabbage and a zucchini plant. That’s just one zucchini plant this year, and it’s in afternoon shade, so we’re hoping to slow down the harvesting on this typically bountiful crop.