The Garden

The vegetable garden is about two thirds of the way planted.  The tomatoes and peppers are in, and a few things are beginning to sprout in the raised beds.  This year I am trying "Lasagna Gardening"  I put down ground cloth in the fall, and covered the garden with leaves.  The leaves have broken down over the winter.  I left the ground cloth, and will put down layers of mulch as we go.  I read about this on a gardening blog.  It should help me control the weeds, and there is less damage to the soil.

I started the tomatoes, peppers, and some other herbs and flowers in the house about six weeks ago.  This year I ordered my seeds from Henry Fields.  I was frustrated with how long it took them to ship my seeds, but I have to say, the plants have done well.  

I built my raised beds out of 5 hole brick that I bought at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  This is my first time working with raised beds.  I'll let you know how it goes.  One has been planted with Yukon potatoes.  The other has green beans, radishes, lettuce, carrots and beets.  They are covered with net for the time being, to keep the bunnies and squirrels out.

Along with the vegetable and herb garden, I have lots of flower beds, which have been overtaken by weeds and grass.  I am working on them a section at a time.  My next door neighbor has raspberry bushes along the fence.  Some had crept into my garden.  I transplanted the volunteers to a corner of the flower bed.  They are looking pretty stressed right now, so I hope they will make it.  My sister also gave me lots of Day Lilies from the house they just moved out of.  It will be interesting to see what I get in the way of blooms.

I have a love/hate relationship with my garden and yard. A lot of times I have to force myself to go outside to work, but I find it deeply satisfying as I begin to make progress.  I feel proud of myself when I can feed myself with vegetables that I have grown. Nothing tastes as great as homegrown veggies!  I am grateful that I have the time and space to do this.

Wow!  There is cause for celebration.  This is my 1,000th post on this blog.  Amazing!