First Day of Spring 2011

The first day of Spring 2011 was a busy one.  I wanted to get out into the vegetable garden to get my peas into the ground and instead I did so much more.  The flower beds were raked out, the plants were cut down and an eight foot section of the vegetable garden was tilled and compost added. 

The crocus are up. I forgot that I have these in the flower beds but they reminded me.  They welcome spring and are always a sign of the season before us.

As the leaves and debris from the winter were raked away, other gifts were hiding below.  I was so pleased to see the Alliums have come back and are ready to stand strong in the spring garden.

Allium growth

Alliums emerge

As I cut down the Sedum Autumn Joy to remove the brown bits, I saw the emergence of the new growth and I was so excited.  I know that these plants will not come to show their beauty until the fall, but the spring growth is a sign of what is to come.

The garden that runs along the fence and garage are cleaned.  They still need weeding and mulch, but it is great to see that rich soil and green peeping up through.  I cannot wait for more.

Side garden

I also worked in the vegetable garden.  I cleaned and tilled an eight foot section to get my root veggies, beans and peas in.  But since I was distracted by the other clean up, I did not get to all the planting I wanted.  I was able to plant carrots and radishes today. Left to plant - beets, leeks, peas, green beans, shallots and some more carrots.  A gardener in the spring has so much hope and so much to do to realize that hope. I use the rake to ensure a straight line and even spacing.  You can see below the soil added to the seed trench.  The seed is then added on top and then is covered.  I then mark the end of the row so I know which seeds are where.  I keep track in my Garden Journal of when the seeds are sowed.  This helps to determine when plants are ready to pick.


Area prepped

Rake, shovel and ready to plant

This week's goal is to get the rest of the seeds in.