in the garden

After the blow of losing the homestead last week, the first thing I wanted to do was put my hands in some soil and get the gardens started. We're still keeping ourselves open to what might come along, but I'm aware that the right little homestead might be months or even years (although I hope not!) away. While we can do everything where we are (Mama, does this mean we can't get chickens this summer?!), we can grow some of our food. 

Elizabeth, who came home from school on Friday with a particularly itchy case of poison ivy, helped me weed the beds.  She discovered, and then abandoned the weeding, that some of our compost had sprouted into little peach seedlings. Of course she wanted to try to grow them into peach trees.  She took the 2 heartiest of the bunch and planted them in pots on our deck to see if we could grow them into little trees, maybe to be planted at a little homestead down the road. Here's hoping!

My chives from last summer seemed to overwinter fairly well in pots on the deck, despite being largely ignored for the last 6 months.  I harvested twice and that was the extent of any attention paid.  Now it has seed pods, which means I'll be replanting soon.

I did manage to get most of the rest of our herbs planted over the weekend.  I'm holding off on the oregano and second pot of cilantro until the weather is a bit warmer.  I've found that several plantings of cilantro works better for me since it bolts so quickly in the heat.  This way, I have more when salsa canning season comes around.

The kale is starting to go nuts after barely growing much over the winter.  I see green smoothies in our future!

The spinach is also nearing it's end as I'll need this spot for jalapeños in a few weeks. I did plant the bell pepper plants around the spinach.

We're trying a new system with the tomato plants this season.  The stakes and cages drive me crazy! Every summer I end up with a heap of tomato plants, cages and stakes uprooted. A huge mess! I even tried tying plants to multiple stakes last year.  It did NOT help. This year, we are planting tomatoes under a trellis, a trellis that has been staked into the ground and seems very sturdy.  I'm crossing my fingers!

Our heirloom tomato varieties this year are June Pink, Roma, Abraham Lincoln, and Yellow Pear.  It's my first time trying the June Pink and Yellow Pear.  They sound so pretty!

I know much of the country is still enduring a spring that thinks it's winter.  I'm very grateful for a warm spring this year.  Have you spent any time in the garden yet?