Baby Leek! ~ More fall planting and tilling in Abingdon, VA

Heather here.

Our focus right now is recruiting participants for next year.

I've been handing out flyers at the food pantry and the food pantry staff distributes them as well.

The flyer, and a lovely sunflower full of seed for next year (!)

I tilled up more of the garden and we seeded Austrian Winter Peas, and planted leeks, shallots, and lettuce. We will put bales of straw around the lettuce and prop a window on top for a makeshift coldframe. 

We shoveled all the tilled-up soil from the pathway and made a large mound, hoed 2 furrows and planted the little baby leeks 6'' apart. As they grow, we will rake soil into the furrows. We will also mulch the crap out of the leeks and shallots to aid in their over-wintering experience. 

Little lettuce squares

Before, and during, the tilling I was hemming and hawing and getting a bit worried and out of sorts as I always do when I think about soil compaction, all the different schools of thought on tilling...questioning my relationship to the soil and how much I really understand, but one of our volunteers, Debbie, actually took a photo of the soil to send to her friend as she said this was some of the best soil she's seen and she wanted to "gloat about how lucky [she] is to get to garden in it". 

Our garlic arrived...all 8 varieties. So excited. Need to do some onion research...

And our oats keep on keepin on.  

That's it that's all!