In Case You Were Wondering...

This is my garden post. 

HaHa!

I have really had a lot of fun getting out in the garden this spring, planting and watching things grow. The plants are still small and I can't wait until they fill in the beds and start giving me lots of veggies. 

My garden is still under construction, so to speak. I still don't have a potting shed or a potting bench, for that matter. Hopefully, I can hogtie Cliff long enough to at least make me a potting bench, soon. Or, I just might have to pull out his power tools and make one myself....even though I'm forbidden from using power tools. HaHa! He does get brownie points, though, because he made me an extra raised bed and another compost bin.

I have a couple of garden accents I want to hang and I am patiently waiting for my zinnias and marigolds to grow big enough to plant around in different spots. Perpetual progress, I think, sums up the garden pretty well.

Well, as you can see, I took lots of photos and I'm just gonna go ahead and let them do the talking. 

I just love my little garden. It looks so cottage-y.

I've planted more vegetables this year than last and if I had the room, I would plant even more. I'll give you a quick list.....carrots, lettuce, onions, kale, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, celery, tomatoes, cantaloupe, jalapeno, beets, radishes, squash, zucchini, watermelon, cucumbers, string beans, okra and dill. I also planted some spinach and sugar snap peas, but I think I planted them too late. Only one sugar snap pea germinated and the spinach never grew taller than an inch before dying off. 

My new raised bed is under the window and is home to the string beans and okra. And, do you see the pink tub and a tiny bit of a blue tub sticking up beside the new bed? That's where my other compost bin went. Cliff had not installed it yet before I too these pictures. 

From this view, in the top left corner of the garden is where some sort of potting shed or bench is going....one day...some day...whenever. 

And do you see that metal bin hanging on the side of the house? I use it to store a few small garden tools, extra gloves, garden string and scissors.

Last winter, I direct composted in the garden beds as well as topped dressed them with leaves. I really used too many leaves, though. They didn't break down all the way before it was time to plant. I probably spread the leaves 3 to 4 inches thick. However, the leaves that did break down made some good compost for the beds and the remaining leaves, although not very pretty, are helping to hold moisture and keeping the soil somewhat cooler during our long hot days. Because of the direct composting, I had a few volunteers. This is a watermelon volunteer.

....and, this is cantaloupe volunteers.

One way to get free plants and is so much fun to experiment with is to cut off the bottoms of certain vegetables that I buy at the store and root them in water. I've done it with celery, romaine lettuce and this one, bok choy.

Kale

Broccoli

Dill

Carrots. Yes, they need to be thinned, but I can't bring myself to do it. I've never had good luck growing carrots until this year. And they look so pretty that I hate to bother them.

Mixed lettuce. I picked quite a bit last weekend. It was delish.
I did a succession planting of this lettuce, Saturday. I'm not sure how it will fair since we are getting some really hot days, lately.

Tomato. I planted several varieties of tomatoes this year....some heirloom and some cherry tomatoes, too.

We've already been enjoying the radishes.

Since space is limited, I'm trying planting in pots this year. The one in the center is cucumbers and the two on the sides are zucchini and squash

.

Zucchini

  Cilantro, also growing in a pot.

String Beans

Okra

And before you go, I just had to show you one of my flowers in bloom. I am so happy with this Catmint. This is the second year's growth. I've planted them beneath my crepe myrtles. I love them so much that I ordered three more and planted them in the back of the house to help hide the AC unit. 

Last, but not least....do you remember
The Hope and The Potential?
This, my friends, is The Promise.

I've already picked the early cabbage and this head is in my crock...fermenting...as we speak. It will be sauerkraut in a week or so. I can't wait....man, I love that stuff. I have a later planting of cabbages growing, but once again, it's getting hot and I'm not sure how they will do. I'm still learning the best time to plant things, but with our unusually warm February and then a freeze in March, I'm sure the plants are as confused as I am. 

Hope I didn't keep you too long. I'll give updates as the season progresses. 

How's your garden growing?

Oh wait, I wanted to show you our salad from the garden. It's just lettuce, radish and a few sprigs of dill. I dressed it with plain white balsamic vinegar. Soooo good! 

I also wanted to show one of our favorite plant-based meals. A beans, rice and vegetable bowl. The possibilities are endless. And, depending on the combination, each bowl has it's own unique deliciousness.

 

Check back in a few days. I'm going to share another favorite recipe.

~~** Laurie **~~