"Ray Drouillard" wrote in message ...

I'm wondering if I'm going to have to set aside another plot for next
year's garden. If the stuff is still leaching chemicals that suppress
germination, I may have to let it sit for a couple years before planting
seeds again. I might end up using the entire plot for things like
tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, squash, and the like next year.

or chard or lettuce or beet or cabbage. I really only seed carrots,
arugula, spinach, tatsoi and mache. I do seed some lettuce in
midseason, but the early one is always from transplants. But what you
should do is test your pine needles towards the end of the season.
when the ground is still warm, plant a few seeds of what you plan to
seed, and see how it goes. I gave the two years number based on my
experience with light mulch (maybe one inch, partially composted
needles from previous year, seeding attempted in june and july).

There
is some lovely ground in that area in front that looks like a flood
plane (but isn't -- or it would be flooded right now). The orchard and
chicken range is going there, but a little chicken wire would be
sufficient for putting a garden there.


Ray