Another year, another experiment. I started the garden late this year and started quite a few vegetables from seed after June 1st. During my internship in N Carolina this April/May, I learned about indigenous milpa planting for 3 sisters. I have been making squash mounds for years but the milpa rows are new to me. I decided to give it a shot here in Wisconsin. My dad asked me to plant a sunflower in the center of the mounds to help stabilize the corn roots due to the high winds at the farm, just like his mom used to do (rural organic dairy farm). I really liked the easy harvest from the potatoes last year using a trench and burlap sack method so dad and I each planted a section of potatoes. All the green plants in the first photo are volunteers from last year, mainly flowers, mint and chives. I moved several of the tomato volunteers into a row and left others in place. I purchased around a dozen plants from an Amish farm to Kickstart the season and covered the ground in straw between the rows for weed control. I discovered that the translucent green coffee bags i used as a border for my section are superb for growing weeds so I am in the process of cleaning up the edges and deciding on another border option. Overall, I am pleased with the results from the cardboard/compost/burlap sack winter ground cover, I barely had weeds inside the borders. This year I'm working on increasing diversity, establishing more perennial crops and building soil. Let the fun begin!
