It started, as it always does in late winter, with a handful of tiny seeds and a couple small seed starting trays in the window. I was aching to start growing again so I did a few herbs in some windowsill trays.
Before long that turned into a few more small trays.
Then I jumped up to my large flats and got out my grow lights.
And before I knew it, our house was being taken over by the plant kingdom!
Just about every surface in the office has plants of some kind on it.
I always make a calendar for myself so I know when to start each kind of seed, based on how long it needs to grow inside before it’s ready to go in the ground. I have had 5 big planting days so far and will do one more round indoors before I start directly seeding cold-hardy plants into the ground.
Hopefully it will stop raining long enough to get my new garden beds tilled later this week. The spot where I am expanding to is grass now so it will require a heavy duty tilling and mixing in of composted chicken bedding. We are planning to rent a big tiller that you pull behind the tractor for the project. Until we get that bed ready, I have no where to go with all these plants so we need to figure out how to make that happen! At the same time, the fencing for the chickens is also an essential. Those birds will have my seedlings gnawed down to the ground in a day if they can get to them. We do finally have all the t-posts in so it’s just a matter of putting up the actual fencing and making the gates. Anyone have a talent with tying t-post clips and want to lend a hand?
My old garden is transforming into a berry/perennial garden this year. I’ve moved all my elderberries in, along with blueberries, currants, raspberries and blackberries that I had growing elsewhere.
To these, I added a few aronia berries, some additional currants and blueberries, and gobs of strawberries – 200 to be exact!
That was a fun project. I laid landscape cloth in rows, cut small squares in it, dug holes and dropped in the plants. From what I’ve read, this helps keep the berries clean and the weeds down between the plants. Time will tell! I also added a second asparagus patch. I have my eyes on those. Should be seeing asparagus shoots any day now.
I am so eager for fresh food again. What about you? What are you most looking forward to eating fresh from the garden this growing season?
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