In My Garden

 

It's amazing to me how fast this spring has flown by! We are nearly in May! By this time my last year, I was harvesting my bok choy, radishes, my carrots, beets, and peas were all sprouting. Since moving set us back in the garden area, my heart longs to be able to start.

While this house and property were our dream, it didn't come with an area designed for vegetables. And one would think that with all this space, finding a place to put one would be as simple as pointing your finger. Unfortunately it hasn't been that easy. We found our garden space (after much deliberation and consideration of things like sun exposure, wind, ease of watering, etc.) and now comes the job of making it workable! 

We are having to level it out and, once that's completed, will build raised beds throughout and construct a deer fence. It's been quite the challenge (I will go into more depth in another post) but I have never been so excited to get my vegetables going!! I think its because this will be the first time in my adult life that I've been able have an actual vegetable garden instead of spaces and flower beds where I crammed them in! 

So just as a little fun update, I wanted to share some of the seeds I've started and hope make it into their permanent beds!

Let me start with tomatoes. I promised Cam, and myself for that matter, that I wouldn't attempt to start tomatoes from seed this year since it would be hectic with the move; I'd simplify our lives by just buying them. Well...I changed my mind apparently when I started seeds, and I now have 18 different types, and their all doing well! I have my usual suspects: the Hawaiian, Big Rainbow, German Green, German Pink, Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, to name a few. But a few new varieties made themselves onto my list as well. I have the Box Car Willie, Abe Lincoln, Kumato, and a non-heirloom called Pink Beauty. This last tomato was Cam's pick after hearing about it on a podcast he was listening to. The couple hyped it up so much he just had to try it, haha! But I can eat tomatoes like apples in the summer so I'm not complaining one bit!!

I also started some broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and bok Choy as well. As far as the cruciferous veggies go, I found a fun Asian cabbage I'm trying, a conical cabbage that I'm stoked about, a yellow cauliflower, and purple cabbage! Those go with the standard old faithfuls as well.

My squash are getting jump start too but I'm being a little more specific this year. I'm only planting those that I liked and did well last year. So I have my delicata, acorn, carnival, sweet meat, gold nugget, pumpkin, and I'm trying my hand at the turban and Georgia candy roaster as well! It should be fun come fall harvest...I LOVE squash! And I love how well they keep and versatile they are to cook with!

I also started some melons but I am going to refrain from sharing those just yet. I seem to have poor luck growing these wonderful vineing fruits so most of them don't usually survive the transplant. So when my garden's finally built, I hope to be able to give these guys the care and attention they need to thrive!! That's my goal anyhow :-)

So, that's what I've got started. They line my laundry room counters sitting under grow lights. I've begun moving them outside during the day for the natural light and the wind to help strengthen them. I've also decided to try using a seaweed fertilizer on my recently transplanted veggies. It's less smelly than the fish I've used in previous years and I've heard good things about it. Plus, my worms are in shock from the move so I didn't have any of that to use either.

Hopefully, after this weekend, I'll be able to actually get things in the ground, but I'll keep you updated! I'm so excited!!

What have you started so far this year? Does anything really excite you to try? Do you have any tips or advice? I'd love to hear what's going on in your gardens so please share!

So...Get out and play in the dirt :-)

Enjoy!