Getting the Garden Going

Before the weather turned wet and cold, Paul and I made a good amount of progress on our garden. We potted a bunch of herbs (rosemary, cilantro, dill, spearmint, chives, parsley):

The chives were transplanted from my mom's yard and are already thriving. I used some in my eggs recently.

We also started basil in a garden box inside and are taking a stab at starting some cucumber seeds indoors. More onion sets (this time red onions) went in the ground. We planted seeds for beets, kale, chard, collards, radishes and 2 kinds of carrots. We bought and planted starter plants for cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts. The little plants have had it quite rough this week. One night we even had to scrounge around for assorted boxes and pots to use as makeshift greenhouses. They needed to be covered up because there was a threat of snow! The pumpkins did not survive in their new location, so I'll have to start those again.

The peas have come up quite nicely. I planted too many seeds too closely together. My thinking was that the seeds were given to me by my dad and he had said some of them were old. I didn't want to risk having lots of duds that didn't sprout. I planted a TON of them so as to increase my chances. I think they all sprouted, which is great. But, it also means that I needed to thin them out in order for them to be able to thrive.

I felt like such a meanie, ripping out these newly sprouted plants. Then, I ate one. And, I realized that they taste just like pea pods. Yippee! I was able to thin them and get a few good salads out of it, too. And, if I feel adventurous, there are entire websites devoted to how awesome pea shoots are and the many ways you can eat them.

Since, we didn't buy our house until June last year, this is the first time we have been here to see the apple trees bloom. The blossoms are gorgeous.

Shortly after they bloomed, the windy, rainy weather came through and stripped them of the blooms. I hope these ups and downs in temperature don't prevent them from having a good apple crop. I have promised Paul an apple pie from our own apples this year and I hope to be able to deliver on that.