It is that time of year when the weather flip flops and Mother Nature gives you just enough hope that it's going to stay warm. Yesterday was like that. I wore shorts out for the first time in months! No jacket was required and the sun was pleasantly warm on my face. I noticed the family of robins are back and preparing their nest in the hole near the gutter.
For months, I have been receiving my garden seed catalogs and I have looked through each of them several times. Always planning a garden with new and exciting plants and already thinking of the recipes I would use. Last year didn't go so well, my cucumbers didn't do a thing, they didn't even grow into vines. My bean plants while beautiful produced a mere handful of bean pods. My tomatoes, beets and turnips made a good showing and even the onion bulbs I planted did okay. I planted a lot more in that garden, and was sorely disappointed by the lack of variety that grew. This year we are going to really step up and fertilize the soil.
We expanded the garden to the back fence and it is now 33x13ft. We found a small garden center that had extremely good prices and bought all the plants for the garden. We still have to sow the beet and turnip seeds. I am so excited about the variety we chose this year. We are doing the old standby veggies. Tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, and green beans. I bought a few varieties that we have never tried. Cantaloupe, zucchini, eggplant, and strawberries. We also have yellow onions and garlic. I got chives, basil and rosemary. I have successfully already murdered the rosemary. I've no idea what happened.
This year was so much easier! We found about a community center that has a tool loan program and we were able to get a tiller. Man that saved some time and a lot of back pain! I've got to get one of those!! I can't believe we have ever prepared a plot without one. All these years just accepting the pain. That explains how so many older people are able to garden in their back yards.
Once I get a few pictures taken I will post them. Now come's the hard part.. waiting!!
