Browngirl Going Green

I wasn’t planning to plant today, but when I got ti T.’s house to water my onion seedlings (it’s been unseasonably warm these past few days), I was so excited about getting started with my new garden project that I started digging in the dirt. I put in about 20 yellow onion seedlings today, as well as some arugula seeds in between. I’m trying out the biointensive or Biodynamic/French-intensive gardening method, which entails planting seeds/seedlings in a fairly concentrated way in order to save space and more effectively use resources like water and fertilizers, and to help plants naturally fend off pests by companion planting. For example, onions and garlic because of their smell can be very effective at repelling certain unwanted pests.

I don’t actually know if arugula and onions will grow well together, and had planned to grow beets with the onions instead, but I forgot the beet seeds at home and couldn’t wait to plant the arugula. But since I’m growing the arugula from seeds I can always transplant them to another bed later, and plant the beets with the onions like I planned originally.

Some other veggies I’m planning to start growing this season are radishes, a few of different kinds of lettuce and broccoli rabe. I LOVE broccoli rabe, so I hope it grows well for me. I’ve been referring to the bookGolden Gate Gardening, the seminal gardening text if you’re growing veggies in the Bay Area. While it’s not exclusively about organic gardening, it does have a lot of valuable information about how to garden more naturally and minimize using chemical pesticides. I don’t plan on using any chemicals in the garden, but may have to put in some fencing to keep the neighborhood cats away.

Are you gardening at home or in a community garden? What are you planning to grow this year? Would love to hear about your garden and share tips.