What a beautiful array! How did you scatter / broadcast your seed? Did you think the plants? Did you group them together by type, or was it randomly interspersed. Love all the pictures and descriptions!
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Good questions @allforthegood! I scattered by hand, by holding some seeds in my loosely closed hand and walked around and shook my hand so they scatter around, using my thumb to control the rate that they fling out. I separated seeds by type because if you try to scatter big seeds with small seeds they will distribute differently. So seeds like broccoli and mustards together because they are very similar in size and shape. I just scattered them and then used a rake to lightly mix them into the soil and then tamp it down. I looked for obvious seeds that were on the soil and push them down, especially with bigger seeds like beans. You might choose to scatter smaller seeds and then plunk bigger seeds in one by one.
There is a rule of thumb to plant a seed 2-3x deep as it is wide. I wasn't really that persnickity, I just raked and tamped and let nature do it's thing. Some seeds are more picky about germination and I didn't get as much germination with those. Irrigating might also help get some of the seeds nestled in the soil. Another way to do it which might be more ideal is to scatter the seeds and then spread another layer of compost on top about 1/4" thick or so. The trick is keeping the top layer of soil moist enough every day for a few weeks. Early spring would be the easiest to deal with since it's cooler.
To your other question I didn't group by type where they were planted because I wanted to get a mixed cover crop going to cover the soil and get a yield of food. That was step one for me. Step two is keep improving the soil and then adding plants in the groupings I want. So I would start plants in trays and when it's time to transplant in the garden I would make room by sacrificing these cover crop plants as needed for new plantings.
Thank you for your very detailed instructions. I like the method of scattering, it reminds me of how it would naturally happen in nature. Sometimes I think we overcomplicate how things need to be planted myself included.
It's fun! I enjoy it mixed with planting in lines and patterns, for good balance :)