I’m so happy to FINALLY be able to get out and get down and dirty in the garden!  Up to this point the only planting I’ve done is these peas that I seeded back at the end of January.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see that along with the peas growing, the weeds are growing as well.  This is especially obvious with the snow peas.  I’ve weeded them a little bit since taking these pictures, but I need to finish.

 

A lot of days since then it’s just been too cold for me to want to get out there.  Other days it’s been too rainy.  And then we also wanted to finish this stage of painting in the house that we’ve been working on.  Thankfully, the painting is done for the time being.  I finished the last bit this past Tuesday.

 

Then Wednesday Big Eagle got out there and started cleaning up the rest of the garden to get it ready to plant.  I usually help with the preparation a lot more than I did this year, but I worked out Wednesday morning and then had to get in my 10-mile bike ride.  So it was mid-afternoon by the time I was able to help out.  I got maybe a quarter of the garden cleared of weeds before I had to relieve Mom’s caregiver.  Big Eagle finished up and tilled.

 

On Thursday he took the truck and trailer and got 2 yards of mushroom compost.  Again I worked out in the morning.  When I got back from my workout, I went to the garden to check on how he was doing.  I wasn’t too far on my walk out there when that pungent odor hit my olfactory receptors.  Hoo-weee!  Big Eagle was busy shoveling the compost into the wheelbarrow and dumping it in piles in one half of the garden.  This is also something we usually do together, but I had to head out once again to get in another 10-mile bike ride.  After returning home from that and downing some lunch, I had a hair appointment to keep.  When I got back from that, I was able to finally help out some by raking the piles of compost out into an even layer to cover that half of the garden.  Here I am just about finished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Friday I had to go to book club, so once again Big Eagle was left on his own to finish amending the soil.  He got one more yard of mushroom compost, distributed it over the remainder of the garden, and tilled it all in.  Now we were ready to plant!

 

It rained off and on Saturday, so I didn’t plant until today (Sunday).  All winter long, I save the shells from most of the eggs we eat.  Before planting my tomatoes, I crush the shells and sprinkle them in the holes I dig.  I read somewhere that the calcium in the eggshells helps to prevent blossom end rot, and I haven’t had a problem with blossom end rot since I started doing this a few years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here on the left are my gloved fingers sprinkling the crushed eggshell into a dug hole.  On the right are the six tomato transplants I put in.

I also planted these two tomatillo plants.  I’ve never grown tomatillos before.  I like to try one or two new things in the garden each year.

And then I planted this row of six pepper plants: 3 bell peppers, 2 jalapenos, and 1 poblano.  The poblano is also one I’ve never tried growing before.

The next chore will be to get all of these mulched and caged before the end of this week.  I also need to plant all of my seeds.

 

While I was in the garden planting, Big Eagle was working with his aloe.  He keeps it near a window in the garage all winter long.  Today he moved it all back outside near the barn now that we’re past our average last frost date.  They all look pretty pale after being cooped up all winter, but they should green up pretty quickly outside.

 

 

One more thing I need to get into shape is my herb garden.  It’s in the back yard near the patio.  I was surprised how well the parsley and the sage did even through the winter.  The rosemary didn’t do too bad either.  The lavender, on the other hand, looks dead.  But when I looked closer, I saw that there were green leaves near the bottom.  I need to cut away all the dead wood, and I think it will be okay.  I think I’m going to move the rosemary to a different location.  That will give me room for one or two new herbs this year.

 

 

The garden is hard work, but it’s also very rewarding, and I enjoy being outside at this time of year.  How about you?  Are you also working on a garden?  If so, comment about it below.  I’d love to read about it!

 

 

 

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