How Does Your Garden Grow? {May 8, 2012}

Every week I think that nothing will get done in the garden and then lo' and behold, it does by some sheer miracle.


This week, I opened my garden journal from last year to see when I did my major planting. It was May 15th. Seeing that it was the 6th, I was feeling pretty good. Last year we had rain. Lots and lots of rain. So much rain that I gave up finding a sunny weekend to plant and went out in the pouring rain and planted most of garden in 45 speedy minutes.


This year, there was no need to race. The sun was shining. The kids were playing. I was digging.

Strawberry plants

I weeded my strawberries for starters and then removed all most of the hay from the beds. I decided to keep it over the gravel between our beds. The weeds and I have had enough of each other. Maybe this will slow them down, ha ha ha. 


Now it was time to plant. 


For some reason, I feel summer edging it's warm fingers into our lives when I am making mounds for my summer squash. 6 for the zucchini. 6 for yellow squash. 4 seeds per mound which will be thinned to 2. Done. I planted three rows of Bantam corn (itty bitty 5 foot rows) at the southern of my largest bed for the Good Apple. He really wants corn and hopefully something will be recognizable by Father's Day. Surprise! The Tiger's Eye beans went in between the corn rows. We will see how that works out. Yes, another experiment in the works and not how I had planned the beds AT ALL. 

Herbs and cucumbers ready to go.

As I was planting, I was thinking about the 30 some containers I have around the yard and I decided to plant 3 varieties of cucumbers (both slicing and pickling), basil and summer savory in 6 containers. Later this week, I will plant some romaine lettuce in containers as well. You do realize that since I freed up all of the space in the beds that I will get to plant something unplanned in there, right? Unplanned space never lasts long around here. Ideas are already whirling around my Teflon Brain (nothing sticks here, it just whirls).  After all of the seeds were nestled in to their new homes, I promptly put chicken wire over the top. Birds. 

Lil Miss spying on the Towhee

Speaking of birds, the Towhee is back. I am not kidding. Lil Miss and I were moseying about the garden this morning and I could hear his call. Next thing I knew, he popped around the corner as if to say, "Ah ha fool gardener! It is I!" and he started doing his Towhee thing all over the yard. At least my peas are already growing, but I am a bit worried about the corn and the beans. Bird netting time.


A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned these blood meal "bells" I placed around my tulips to attempt to keep the deer away. They are working. Now that I typed that, I am afraid they will no longer work. But seriously, my tulips are all still standing (except for the spent batches I pulled today). Small miracles. Yeah for the stinky little blood meal bells. I think I will be lining my big beds with them.

White lilac

So, plants are growing. Seeds are planted. You can smell the intoxicating fragrance of the lilacs in the yard and as you walk down the street. Forget-me-nots are peeking out of the planters and pumpkins and gourds are still waiting to be planted. Sunflower starts are stretching their necks toward the sun, much to the pleasure of a certain almost 5 year old. The sun is warm on our shoulders as we fertilize the soil. Good times in the garden.


Finally, the herbs are growing well. A little spindly, but they are growing. Remember how I so wisely labeled them with a dry erase marker? Well, with a little help from a gardener friend and some deductive reasoning, we figure it out. Can YOU identify these herbs? I will have something special for the reader that has the most correct by Sunday, May 13, 2012 at 11 PM PST (Mother's Day...don't forget!). Just submit your response in the comments. I will announce the winner during next week's "How Does Your Garden Grow?".

On that note, share with me. How is your garden growing?


 === Past issues of How Does Your Garden Grow? ===