What’s Growing and The Angst of Spring Gardening
All we want to do right now is work in the garden and hang laundry on the line. That is the consensus from the adults and little ones alike. These crisp and sunny spring days are giving me a gardening angst that is hard to describe. Yeah, we need to get stuff in the ground yesterday for the spring garden, but it’s something more.
I feel like if I don’t use every square inch of soil for growing food I might go stark raving mad. So I thought I’d show you what we’re up to in the garden.
Inside I have a tray of lettuce, onion, and herb sprouts.
This is the newest addition, closest to the backdoor. We put this fence up the other day and just planted the last wave of peas yesterday.
After the compost bins is my absolutely chaotic herb garden. It is mostly perennials like sage, catnip, and echinacea. I found a couple of pots of chives that I had planted last year and never germinated. Now they’re thriving!
Past the herb garden is a small patch of onions and spinach (not pictured) and then two rows of our 2nd pea planting (pictured below).
Beyond that is the beet patch and a patch of radishes and lettuce.
After that you turn left, cross a fence and on your right is this year’s patch of carrots.
Finally, turn left again and you will find three rows of raised beds, two of which have been planted with peas, lettuce, cilantro, and the overwintered kale.
As you exit the garden to walk back to the house you will pass by what is, arguably, our biggest gardening success – comfrey.
We have had rain almost every day for two weeks and the standing water is just beginning to recede. Comfrey loves the wet soil and what you see above is one of many small patches you will find throughout the garden.
We haven’t harvested much yet, but thank you for walking with me through our very early garden.
How is your garden growing?
so nice Shannon. My garden is not growing….yet!
beautiful pics! i have garden envy for sure. 🙂 we’re not going to be doing quite as much gardening this year as i wish but we are going to plant a few things… hopefully next weekend we’ll get some work done on that. some tomatoes and peppers in the hot spot and then i also want to do an herb garden.
You nailed spring gardening–angst. April ( and now May because I am way behind due to the weather) always stresses me out. So much to do. Wanting to grow as much as possible but so much tilling, weeding, and moving compost to do. I don’t know how families didn’t crumble under the stress when they were IT for all their food production back in the day. A future post for you perhaps–“how to gardern without stress” But then maybe it’s stress that keeps me out there all day, every day.
You are certainly doing better than I am. I got a late start too due to too much rain. I have started tomato and pepper seeds inside, but they aren’t doing anything. They are about 3 inches with 2 leaves on each, but they have been this way for a long time. I’m afraid if I put them out in the garden they will be too fragile to make it. It was an experiment with seeds I saved from last year. I am actually contemplating buying some at the farmers’ market that are definitely ready for planting. Getting a garden ready is hard work so I’m doing baby steps.
Hmm… I think I’m spoiled with California. 😉 We’re pulling our first squash from the plants this week, and the onions are starting to bulb out! We’ll be making a “green” salsa for Cinco de Mayo today with our onions, cilantro and zucchini. 🙂 Yay!
But in the meantime, I’m only slightly envious of your comfrey… Mine refuses to grow. It’s never wet enough! 🙂
We built 4 raised beds and had some decent soil delivered (not cheap), but we live high up in the mountains & pines of California–not all California is the same. We just recently had the last of the snows melt a few weeks ago. So…..now I am ready to go with the planting. Our nights drop down to high 30’s or low 40’s so basil, tomatoes, peppers will have to wait. But I am ready with my potatoes & onions & more. Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
I just harvested some chard and mint from my balcony for a breakfast smoothie.
Gonna plant some collards, pumpkin, lettuces and lemon balm out there too.
I def have garden envy of your space.
I started my tomatoes too soon! They’re tall, pretty healthy, but it’s still too early to go in the ground here in Northeast. Some panic…not letting God grant the increase. On a lighter note, the ancient rhubarb planted by my grandfather is coming up as usual and providentially. Amen.
I’m doing way too much for the first year, in a trailer park, with no experience! I’ve got 50 cuke seedlings about an inch high, I just transplanted them all yesterday, they happily survived said transplant, and they’re outside their second day in a row, hardening off. Along with some Apple seeds and lemons that I sprouted. Don’t know if the lemon will do much of anything in Michigan, but I’ll keep it in the house and see, I’ve got great light and huge windows! 🙂
I’ve also got some sad looking tomatoe plants and zuchinis – which were beautiful til I transplanted them. The tomatoe plants were from a friend, she got them on clearance for $0.50 a piece, so if even one works, I’ll be happy.
Tomatoes from seed are okay, half an inch high or so, some of the cilantro and whatever else was in that soil I took from a friend is doing well in pots still.
The transplanted chives, spearmint and rhubarb are THRIVING!! Thank God! But being that it’s my first year, I think I”m doing okay.
Just spent $50 more on seeds this week and planted more inside and the root veggies will hopefully go in this weekend if I can til and get some nice soil in. 🙂 And I’ll be dispursing HUGE pots throughout my patio, deck and window.
Pray for favour for this new bride! I hate spending $60 a week on produce!!! 🙂
You guys are going to be busy shelling peas!
Rain Rain Rain!!! That is all the weather has been for over 2 weeks now until today when the sun came out. Finally good weather you might think…but…tomorrow they are forecasting rain which is to last until next Thursday. With regard to my vegetable gardening I do have peas planted and will plant potatoes this weekend. I have started tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers (sweet and hot), and herbs inside but where I live (Nova Scotia, Canada) it is too soon to transplant these items outside. In addition to the potatoes I am going to plant the seeds for kale, collards (hoping that they will do okay up here), lettuce mixes, cabbage, and radishes. Happy gardening everyone!
I’ve done the same thing as Julie-Ann with my tomatoes. I’m trying hard not to get anxious over them, but they’re so lanky they’re not handling the hardening off well. Wish I hadn’t promised seedling to so many family members now.
You’re garden looks beautiful already Shannon, the color on the kale. You inspire me to overwinter more!
We’ve had unseasonably cooler than normal temps and way too much rain. Since we’ve just had a couple of days in the 70s so far, things have sprouted but really aren’t growing much yet. My suspicion is that it will suddenly turn warm and everything will bolt. I did buy 4 tomato plants but they won’t do much until it finally warms up here in WA state.
Interesting to see the differences due to varying climates! We’re putting in hot weather veggies here (it’s 99 right now at just before 8 PM), getting ready to plant sweet potatoes next week. The cherry tomatoes have lots of little tomatoes, and the peas were now not doing well so I pulled them this morning. Corn is about 4 inches tall.
Oh it has been a long, cold, wet winter and spring in western Washington. We had a nasty hail storm yesterday. My cold season crops like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower starts are in, but not much action yet. Onions are taking root and no sign of the beets yet. About a month ago I worked some organic bone meal with my peas, and only two plants so far–but I think I know why, the dogs were out licking up the soil with bone meal–it looks like they enjoyed a few pea seeds too! So here we go again, I am replanting them this weekend.
What do you do with Comfrey?
Jennifer – We use it as a contact healer for injuries, sore mucles, etc. We are also planning on using it as a fertilizer for the rest of the garden.