Time to Plant

Last year, I sowed lettuce seeds on March 21. Nothing happened. For a while. Finally, in earliest May - germination. Humph. Within weeks, though, I had beds full of lettuce. By the end of June: peas, spinach, carrot tops.

Let's not talk about those carrots.

But that was 2011. This is 2012 - everything's different.

Today Iain and I drove down to Millcreek Gardens (still waking up from winter - you can tell they're anticipating a spring rush in a couple of weeks). Six bags of soil, five four-packs of pansies and about ten seed packs later - time to garden.

We filled the beds with fresh soil (These are beds 3/4 full from last year. They contain a mixture of leaves, grass, dirt, and kitchen stuff from our compost pile. My compost never breaks down, though. Dunno what's up with that. I mean, never. It's been back there for a year but everything's completely intact. I'm considering making a vermiculture tub and letting the worms tackle it.).

Then we planted sugar-snap peas along the south parts of 3 beds. Lots of peas, I know, but last year I planted sugar-snap and snow. That was silly. I got about ten pieces at a time. It was never quite enough to feel like a "harvest." This year, more seeds of one variety = a more reasonable quantity.

Then we planted a packet of carrots in the northern portion of the purple bed. Sprinkled lettuce seeds in the other two completed the veggie plan.

We made a little gift for Grandma (pansies in a terracotta pot), then popped the remaining flowers into the herb bed (the green one, if you've been following the links above). Herbs, chard, and other plants won't go in until May - we shop the Wasatch Community Gardens sale at Rowland Hall. For the moment, though, I'm just happy to have flowers and to fantasize about lettuce.

Did I mention that the blackberries and peonies are coming back? Yep. Photos to come. I promise.