So we decided to give it another shot because that is what Spring is all about. A clean slate, a fresh start, new beginnings. The hope, the faith that Mother Nature will bring the frozen world back to life. That green new life will replace the bare brown. Well, I am having hope and faith that perhaps we will manage to grow something edible this year. And by something, I mean something other than oregano or catnip. Oh, and dandelions, which we can't eat because most likely the dogs have peed on them. Last year we did absolutely nothing in the garden other than harvest raspberries which grew without any help from us. And we did actually get two impressive pumpkins, but the chickens got to eat those after they had served their decorating purpose. Last Spring my husband was trying his hardest to get one of our rental properties fixed up and I was trying my hardest to figure out life with an active baby/toddler. Things are a bit calmer at the moment and so on Saturday we cleared the garden of two year's worth of weeds in order to get that clean slate. We raked, we trimmed, we stepped in dog poop, we probably worried our neighbors with a large bonfire, and we will try this garden thing again. Just a small one, because after 10 years here, we realize our limitations and we also do not know what our plans are for this summer.
We relocated the raised bed and filled it with some hopefully good soil from the chicken yard/compost pile, a couple of bags of topsoil, and a bag of cow manure. Buying cow manure in a plastic bag from Lowes, when I live in rural Central Pennsylvania, is udderly ridiculous. (Not a typo.) However, this is how we do things around here - when we decide the night before that we're going to work on the garden the next morning, then we just do it, so we did not make the time to try and source it locally. I planted beets, leeks, and lettuce. How hard can it be to grow lettuce, right? VERY HARD. I am competing with chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels (I don't think they eat lettuce, but they dig in planters), groundhogs, and male dogs that can aim very high.
I also succumbed to the big box hardware store marketing ploy and bought two rosemary plants and two sage plants that look very out of place in pots outside because the grass is barely green and they are fully formed. However, I love rosemary and I am out of my dried stash. I started basil and kale seedlings and we'll see what happens with those. I can't start seed trays inside because as soon as we'd turn out the lights at night, the cats would go to town wrecking havoc. So everything is outside for now, protected by three different types of fencing that we tied, stapled, and wired together. It looks pretty ugly right now, but the grape vines in front will leaf out (hopefully even with grapes) and the raspberry bushes will make a hedge on the one side.
Hopefully my faith in our garden abilities/security will be reinforced by something green this year.
Have you started your gardening adventures yet?
I shared this post on The Self Sufficient Home Acre for the HomeAcre Hop.