Spring Planting

 

If you haven't planted your spring seeds yet, now is the time! I started working on my garden this week and I'm so excited to see all those little green sprouts coming up! I pulled up whatever was lingering from winter and was surprised to find that I had a few hidden treasures under all the dead looking carrot tops - over a dozen small, but beautiful, carrots. Surprisingly, my spinach did great all winter long. It actually thrived in the coldest part of the winter. I did cover my garden by covering the dog pen (you can see more about my dog kennel garden HERE) where I have my garden in plastic, but I didn't do a very good job and it definitely got below freezing in there. I woke up feeling a little under the weather this morning so I made my winter garden harvest into some creamy vegetable and rice soup. I always crave soup when I have a sore throat.

With a fresh clean garden, I replanted both carrots and spinach plus radishes and lettuce. I started the rest of my seeds inside. As usual, I decided to try things I've never grown before like artichokes. Did you know that artichokes are related to thistles? I didn't! Growing vegetables that I have no experience with sometimes sets me up for failure but every failure ends up being a lesson learned. I wonder what I'll learn from growing artichokes this year. I'm also trying wheat grass for the first time and it's growing so fast! If it's a success, I'll probably start growing it in my kitchen on a regular basis.

What are you growing this year?

Pallet Gardening

My loofa is still growing

 My garden is finally starting to show some reward for all my hard work. My lettuce is almost ready to eat, my spinach is starting to actually look like spinach, my carrots are making progress, my mystery squash has quadrupled in size, and my tiny broccoli is finally in the ground.

I got a request on Instagram to explain how I used wood pallets to create a raised bed garden, so I thought I would share a little about what I did and how it's working. It was really easy and has worked out great! I first cleared the ground of weeds and smoothed out the existing dirt to create a level surface. I then arranged the pallets and filled them with a 50/50 mix of compost and top soil. I filled the pallets by pouring the mixture onto the pallet and then raking the excess into the spaces with a shovel. I lightly plugged the ends with wood pieces and bricks to keep the dirt from washing away. I used one pallet to plant lettuce and spinach and the other to plant carrots. It worked well because it created perfect rows and the surrounding wood seems to add some protection and weed control.

I ended up using the space between the pallets to plant my garlic and squash, and the space on either side to plant my broccoli. I also laid pine chips on the ground where I did not plant to provide drainage so there is plenty of room to walk around the garden without getting my feet in the mud.
Now I just can't wait until my carrots are ready to harvest.

 See my other garden posts here

My Fall Garden

Little baby broccoli

Mystery squash that I planted in egg shells to keep them separate.

My loofa finally produced a gourd and I am so excited about it.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I am trying a fall garden this year. I am very new to fall gardening. I grew lettuce with my mom once when I was 12 but that's the closest I've ever come to growing anything past late August. And although I grew up having gardens every year, this past summer was the first time I had one of my own, and I had such a good time with it that I wanted to keep going. So I started researching cool weather crops and decided to try lettuce, spinach, carrots, broccoli, garlic, and some kind of mystery squash that I've never heard of before. The seed packet told me it could be planted in early spring and again in August, so I planted it in September and hoped for the best. We'll see if it actually works. Either way, this whole project is somewhat of an experiment.  

Today, I planted my garlic in my garden. I got the cloves started in pots a few weeks ago so that I could keep a closer watch on them. They grew so much faster than I thought they would and seem to be doing so well that I planted more straight into the ground with the transplants. I was a little worried how I was going to separate the bulbs when I saw the tangle of roots, but, to my surprise, they pulled apart very easily. 

I also planted my little squash seedlings. I got the seeds started in egg shells from my compost to keep the plants separated and it worked great! I just crushed the shell before I put them in the ground. 

My broccoli still has a long way to go. The weather has been a little warmer and sunnier the past few days, so I hope the encourages them to grow faster. So far so good!

See my summer garden here 



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A Tour of the Garden

The last watermelon remaining. 

My loofa has taken over one side and the top of my garden and it just opened its first bloom this week. 

Mint is my favorite herb to grow because it keeps coming back every year.

This year, I tried something new with my garden. I planted vining plants in a 10x10 dog pen with chicken wire over the top and let them climb up the sides of the fencing. I made little shelves for the heavier fruit, like cantaloupe and watermelons, out of clothes hangers and an old pair of pantyhose. It worked out pretty great. Although, I definitely will do a few thing differently, including my planting layout. 

The fence was great because it kept everything contained and safe from rabbits and deer. It also made a sturdy trellis to support all my plants and keep them off the ground. The chicken wire, that I secured over the top with zip ties, helped to keep the birds away.

At this point, my garden is coming to a close, and pretty soon, I will pull everything up and start working on my fall vegetables. However, having an abundance of vegetables from my garden and friend's gardens has made me use them in anything and EVERYTHING. 

Scrambled eggs with garden vegetables.

- Tomatoes 

- Eggplant 

- Bell pepper

- Onion

- Eggs

- Salt & pepper 

- Minced garlic 

- Avocado for garnish 

All ingredients are to taste.

Sauté vegetables and spices until tender, then add the eggs and fold until the eggs become firm. Serve topped with avocado slices.