Sunday, March 21, 2010

Come On, Spring!

It don't look like much.....yet.

But the season has begun!

And this year I seem to be more excited about the vegetable garden than ever. I think that's maybe because Grace is almost five, so when we're out in the yard she no longer demands my complete attention. She likes to go off on her own a bit and go on "treasure hunts" or work on her own "garden" ... both involve piles of rocks, a shovel and mud. And this year she even planted her own tray of flowers and food, although I'm not sure how those twelve watermelon plants are going to do in that one four-inch pot.

I started my seedlings March 18th, and pretty much finished them up today. Just about everything else has to be planted where it will grow - things like winter squash, zucchini, cucumbers don't transplant well for me, and of course root vegetables don't either. I even decided to keep a journal, especially since this year I, um, went a little overboard purchasing seeds!

So far, this is what I've got:

Tomatoes: Green Zebra (green, striped), Sungold Select (small, orange cherry variety), Striped Roman (really cool-looking! Red roma type with yellow striping), Fox Cherry Red (hubby's favorite), Hazelfield Farm (big red heirloom from Appalachia), Orange Flesh Purple Smudge (I can't even picture it...), Morning Sun (where'd THAT come from? Did I even buy those seeds?)

Peppers: Italian Pepperoncini, Jimmy Nardello Italian (sweet Italian pepper), Anaheim, Patio Red Marconi (these might end up in pots on the deck - they're like an Italian all-purpose sweet pepper, bright red when ripe), Cayenne chili peppers, good ol' California Wonder Bell, and eight - yes, eight - Jalapeno's!

Cruciferous: Cauliflower - Purple of Sicily, and Broccoli - George's Favorite Blend (my grandfather's name was George, so that's why I picked this one)

And I even started some of the herbs, although I usually have good luck throwing the seeds in a pot or the garden and forgetting about them. So far, Thai Sweet Basil, Lime Basil, Siam Queen Thai Basil (clove-scented, they say) and lots of Oregano. Two other Italian Sweet Basil's will once again be sown in a window box I keep on my deck as well as a couple rows in the garden. And finally, Summer Savory.

All that's left to do now is wait....

Meanwhile, here's a glance at gardens past....

"Memories....Light the corner of my mind...."

Herbs and peppers on the corner of the deck....



Hot cherry peppers and jalapenos after a summer rain....
"Misty, watercolor memories.....

The vegetable garden of 2008 - my first "real" one on a long time...tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, butternut, zucchini, summer squash and even a pumpkin (didn't make it, though)

"What's too painful to remember......

....We simply choose to-oooh fo-orget...."
Yes, 2008 was the ice storm, so 2009 we decided we should count our blessings that it didn't fall on us and take down the old maple...

Some of us were more upset about that than others...


Even Martha helped with the clean up...

In fact, it didn't cost us a thing to have it hauled away...Martha just ate it.

BURP!

And as I was browsing through old garden photos, I came upon this one.

That's the one good thing about this time of year...everything is cleared out, so hopefully THIS YEAR we'll be able to maintain this area behind our garage!

So tell me, how does YOUR garden grow? :)

(P.S. Martha can be rented out - cheap! - if you have any major cleaning up to do!)



7 comments:

angeltastic said...

Hubby tried to make a garden our first summer here. It didn't work. It was too small for the amount of plants, and the soil was all wrong. We really didn't know what we were doing. I'm trying to get my son to make one this year. He LOVES fresh veggies!

thamesarino said...

woo hoo! bring on spring!
I'm too afraid that anything I might plant now will soon be forgotten between midnight & 3 am feedings and the needs of three other kids... so we are going to have to do all store boughts a little later in the year.
and I think we might scale down those this year too.... so I wish you much success!! and please keep posting along the way! : )

Tattoos and Teething Rings said...

I've always been jealous of home gardeners! I have a zero patience/talent in the garden, and I live in America's Salad Bowl- pathetic!

Willoughby said...

Wow, you did buy a lot of seeds! I don't have a lot of luck with sowing the seeds indoors. They always seem to die on me.

My biggest problem with my garden last year was the rabbits and squirrels. They ate more than half of my flowers and vegetables. I've heard that Liquid Fence works really well so I'm going to try that this year.

ChristineM said...

Willoughby, we haven't seen a squirrel in our back yard in over ten years (thanks to the dogs!) but we are getting some pretty brazen bunnies these days! Lots of local construction and site work has displaced them. I think they were living behind our garage (that last photo) so there's another incentive for me to keep that area maintained better!

Chicago Mom said...

Wow! I wish I had room for that kind of planting. Someday we'll retire to the country... :)

I have to get my sugar snap peas in the ground soon - my daughter loves to eat those right off the vine!

Our biggest garden pests are slugs; big, juicy, nasty ones! Ugh!

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

Come on Spring! YOu are going to be a busy girl! I have a small veggie garden and I love it too. YOur tomato choices sound so very interesting.
I just planted sweet peas in the back of my garden on Sunday afternoon. As soon as I see their dear little heads peeking up I'll put up a wire fence for them to climb.

I haven't planted seed yet, but I am going to clean an area of my basement out and put grow lights there. I am so excited to grow some of the lovely sounding veggies you are planting.

And don't get me started about herbs!!!!!
Yvonne