A lot has changed in a couple of weeks over here.
The radishes, beets, and herbs are all up and doing well, and we finally got the garden expanded.
We were able to source really good topsoil and compost to fill the new bed, which always feels like half the battle when adding growing space. Bryce is the manpower behind all of these projects of mine, and I couldn’t be more grateful for him — because most of my ideas usually come with a lot of digging, hauling, and building attached. I’m very thankful he tackles my visions like they are his own!
The girls immediately approved of the fresh dirt and spent plenty of time scratching through it looking for anything they could possibly find before we closed the new bed off with wooden stakes and two-foot hardware cloth around the perimeter.
The cattle panel trellis should also give the girls some much-needed shade in that part of the yard once summer arrives, which may end up being one of the better accidental benefits of the whole setup.
I have peas planted along the east side of the arch trellis (and put some more out on my existing bamboo trellis — I’ll be freezing the majority of these) and plan to do cucumbers along the west side, with the new west bed holding a lot of the sun-loving vegetables and herbs — tomatoes, peppers, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and likely potatoes taking up some of that space too.
Down in the basement, all of the seedlings have been up-potted and fertilized, and they are really taking off now. I have so many good-looking tomato plants that I may get a wild hair and plant a few out a couple of weeks earlier than I normally do. I usually wait until the first weekend of May, but this year I may test a few early and see how they handle it. Nothing wrong with earlier tomatoes if we keep having a warm spring.
This week I’ll also be planting new strawberry plants and filling cedar planter boxes with more herbs. I am itching to have the porches and patio come back to life with all my potted plants!
The hummingbird feeders are cleaned, filled, and hanging again — now I’m just waiting for that first return. With the warmth settling in, it shouldn’t be too long. The girls are thriving with the warmer temperatures too — we have the eggs to prove it.
There is still plenty left to plant, but it finally feels like everything is underway now, which is always the most satisfying part after weeks of planning and waiting. We’ll see what else I get accomplished this week, because I plan to spend every second I can outside!
Until next time, I’ll be between the coop and the kitchen.