Gardening in the spring, with freezes and sunlight

Gardening, gardening everywhere…
The temperature outside seems to resemble the stock market these days. Spring brings us days of warm highs, and cold lows. Investing in gardening is about as risky as investing in Wall Street—one never knows which way the wind will blow.
 
OK… enough philosophizing…after buying all those heirloom seeds and starting them indoors in egg carton containers, we started talking about where are we going to plant all those babies… In years past, I would have crowded them in without giving enough regard to the ‘requirements’ listed on the package. However, this year, with some guidance and common sense, it was decided to really give these plants an opportunity to grow as nature intended for them. Having help to maintain them throughout the growing seasons makes it all so much more feasible than in years past. Discussion ensued about how much room would be needed, and therefore, expansion of the garden beds is a must. We decided to extend the two existing beds and add in a third bed between the two existing ones. Also, it seems like we need a bed dedicated to herbs since some of them are perennial and grow to large sizes. With a plan in mind and a warm day at hand, tools and equipment were gathered to complete the expansion project.
 

Before: Trenches were dug to mark the extension points of the existing beds and to mark off the new beds.
 
Here you can see the two existing beds. Notice where the new beds will be…

 
With a new carport installed, it was thought that it could provide a bit of wind protection and make for a nice place to plant some heirloom tomatoes. Additionally, we could add a shade cloth for those very hot, sunny days. Thus, with rototiller in hand, a new bed was cut in next to the carport allowing a couple of feet to the right as a walkway to access the future tomato plants.
 

 
Once that rototiller got going there was just no stopping it! Here you can see the two existing beds—extended—and the new third bed in the middle cut in. Back behind the three beds, look at the curvy bed in the background. What could that be for? Hold on… I’ll tell you in a minute.
 

 
OK… here it is close up… it’s going to be the herb garden…! I have to tell you that having my yard worked up like this really makes me feel like a farmer this year—more than ever before… I’ve long thought that having those perfectly manicured development lawns that just suck water and don’t produce anything were really not the best use of space and ground and natural nutrients. Transforming a yard into a garden brings with it thoughts of abundance of the universe and is a great way to start to build community. Neighbors drive by and look and wave. Some, stop by and chat. When it’s harvest time, we’ll have plenty to give away and even some to sell, so it’s also an income stream. The abundance of the universe is a truth worth tapping into.
 

 
All we needed now was a nice warm day to inspire us to go to the Big Box store to get a few supplies…
Voila! There it is…! Warm day in hand… and who could pass up some BIG heirloom tomatoes and a few inexpensive plants: red cabbage and cauliflower. Don’t they look lovely?!
 

 
It was decided to put the red cabbage and the cauliflower next to and outside of the hoop house. Using a small hand trowel, holes were dug and the plants were inserted into their slots. We gave each one a good dose of 7.0 pH water and a bit of 5.5 pH water to get started—followed with some regular water from the hose.
 

 
In went the two heirloom tomato plants…

 
We also stopped by the local nursery and purchased some potatoes and some Vidalia Onion shoots along with a package of red-leafed lettuce. We decided to plant the onions and the lettuce here. Rather than spacing the onions 6 inches apart, we figured that if they were planted 3 inches apart, then every other one could be pulled at a smaller size to eat during the growing season. This would allow enough room for full development of the remaining onions.
 

The lettuce is planted under the sand…by the way…
 
Indoors… there are seedlings growing away in the egg-shelled cartons. Here’s the broccoli seedlings and the eggplant sprouts… my son says I have a laboratory going in there…

And the tomato seedlings and green peppers look terrific too. I had always shied away from starting tomatoes from seed in the past because those seedlings looked so spindly that i just didn’t know how they’d get to be like the big strong plants one sees in the nursery stores… this year I get to witness this amazing transformation. Now the tomato plants have their secondary leaves. After turning them around the other day, they seem to have grown stronger and more sturdy just in their effort to reach the sunlight. I’m delighted with this process. Plus since everything has energy, I speak lovingly to the plants so they are encouraged to be the best and strongest plants they can. I know that that may be over the top for some of you, but the more I study the nature and energy of the universe and how we are all connected and affect everything around us, I’m learning the importance of everything we think, do, and say. I am striving for the best possible outc

ome for these heirloom seeds turned plants, so why wouldn’t I want to speak in a loving, supportive, nuturing way to them? How could that be bad for them? So… grow my little seedlings… go forth and multiply… 
 
peace and love and bon appetit!