In The Garden With The Vegetables (Spoiler Alert The Beet Did It).

 I must say after a long winter of reading and eating bon bons, getting a garden planted in spring is a lot of physical work. 

Hoisting trays of plants and dirt.

Using my trusty Groundbreaker to hack roots out of my raised beds so I can plant in them.

Moving lawn furniture around.

This week, I hacked out a place in Raised Bed One for two rows of fingerling potatoes. They were all sprouting like mad so I didn’t “chit” them ( a word that raises my hackles somehow so I more often rebel as not and don’t chit). Pictures when I find them. 

I’ve been using my camera rather than my iPad which continues to inch toward death.

I did use it today to take a picture of Raised Bed 3 which has three kinds of peas, five shallots in a row, a large number of red onions in a row, and three lettuces I purchased last week while plant bingeing.

Why yes, I did over plant those peas. This bed is a target for creature attacks. It could all be dug out by morning. For sure if there’s an undetected rabbit in the yard, he will get those lettuce.

Needer, rabbit boy. I planted only three lettuce here and the others from the packs are off the ground in pots. The lone strawberry I purchased so far is in a pot. The three beets I purchased are in a big bowl that I can move into a shadier spot if need be.  I saw a recipe for pickled beets this morning by chance. Grow, little beets, grow!

Off The Rack: A Few New Seeds

I made a foray to get a few seeds and new seed mix.  Though I've tried to pare down on tomatoes in the past few seasons, I went for those.

My eight rows of Peas which were decimated last year are going to be tried again.  Mr. DOA is vowing to plunge some sort of extra protection under the ground near the veg fence this spring to prevent plundering.  Thumper cold be thwarted!

Always reliable Supersweet 100

A few herbs.  Parsley is showing up in lots of recipes.  We love Cumin.  I always grow Basil.

Although I never have luck with California Wonder peppers, try, try again.  I really want Pole beans rather than Bush Beans this year.  The Bush Beans were also decimated.  Fly you high, little beans!  

I haven't had as much luck with Morning Glories as I'd like.  I haven't tried these varieties before.  This time I will start some inside and some outside and see how they do.

DOA in the Garden: Peas to Please!

Early in my gardening life there was a columnist called The Slothful Gardener.  She has been my secret inspiration during all of my gardening years.  She tried to be particular about how she planted things and tended her garden, but at the end of the day, she just didn't worry and she let her garden grow, grow grow.  My heroine.

In that spirit, I devoted an entire bed today to planting Pea Seeds.  I had seven different varieties because (gasp) I tossed in seeds from previous years.  Seeds which I did not keep in a vacuum packed, temperature controlled vault.  I reek, I know.  It doesn't matter, because I was so very happy digging furrows, planting the seeds, noting which were where in my notebook.

I reflected as I worked how much I love playing in the dirt and always have.  Every other set of pea seeds went in horizontally or vertically in its allotted spot.  As you can see cleverly separated by handy little sticks.

I have never had any luck with peas, no matter how carefully I planted, spaced, inoculated, fed, watered.  I've gotten like 3 peas to eat, ever.  Viva la revolucion!   I just dumped those packets in.  Muahahaha.

If I don't get any peas, no shock.  I had a lovely time planting them and dreaming of some miraculous pea bed, and that is all that counts this time around.