The April Garden

Looks like my gamble paid off and we're home free for the weather. -Of course, now that I've said that we'll get hit with a super late frost, but I'm staying positive. The good thing about living in GA is that if we do have an early last frost, we can get in 2 if not 3 plantings of things like cucumbers and beans and can get a good jump on the SVB. The heat of July and August usually wipes out the beans and cucumbers, but you can replant them at that time and when they're ready to start flowering, it's cooled off considerably. Tomatoes are the same. When they stop producing in the heat of summer, I yank them and start again. It's not too shabby. So, today I put in the cucumbers and some beans - I'm trying asparagus beans for the first time, so I'm excited about those. One of my goals this year is to take monthly pictures of the garden from the deck to see how it progresses through the year. Here's the main garden on April 1. The cabbage is trying hard to head up, the garlic stems are thickening, the squash/zucchini are growing true leaves, the lettuce has been harvested from twice and everything makes me smile. The mid yard is looking great also. The girl's purple potatoes that she pleaded for, but maintains she'll never eat, were hilled today for what I think will be the last time or the dirt will overflow the box. The onions are great and I'm pulling some as I need them for cooking, so I don't know how many I'll actually leave to fatten since they all went to seed last year and ruined the lot of them. The broccoli behind them is struggling because the onions block a lot of the sun, but they'll make it.

The herb harden is plodding along. The basil seems to be pleading for a bit more sun and warmth, but they'll all do well. I'm most excited to see the horseradish in the front right box coming through. I need to leave it for a full year and harvest the next year, right? There's so much to learn!

We all made it to spring break, although I'm still not sure how. I'm so ready to spend my mornings in the garden with a cup of coffee and just watch things grow. I've noticed this winter that I bought very, very little produce from the grocery and never beyond what was necessary....I'm growing into a veggie snob. Things just look so beat up in the stores after you've seen what you produce in your own garden. The kids notice it as well. They're already asking when they can set up a veggie stand again.

The morning comes early - but since it's spring break I may just squeak out an additional half hour! Sweet gardening dreams.