Planting Spring Gardens: Seeding Beets & Radishes

We're back at Laughing Dog Farm and we're seeding our spring vegetables. Right now I'm looking to put in a row of beets. Not just any beets. These are Italian heirloom beets. The kind that have candy striped concentric rings of pink and white when you cut them open and their sweet, real sweet. The name is Chioggia, from the village of Chioggia, Italy. Now you might think that we planted peas in this bed and it's full. However, in permaculture style gardening, companion planting, and so forth, we're looking to build a community of diverse individuals. In this case the peas that are here are going to find the fence and go up. And these beets, they have a whole different habitat in front of the peas. So, I have no problem putting in a little row, right along the edge here. A little row. If I plant too many by accident, they'll make excellent transplants. And they will not interfere one bit with the peas coming up along the fence. OKay, there we go, and I'm going to tuck them in with my hands, burying them to about a depth of 1 inch. 1 and 1/2 perhaps in this dry weather. Carefully pulling the soil towards me I can tuck them in and tamp down the row and Viola! Our bed is becoming more full, not completely full, this bed still has tons of room. But we're getting there.