As of today, there are 9 weeks to go until our average last frost date. That means I got to sow lots of cool weather crops indoors!

Stories from someone who is learning to grow
As of today, there are 9 weeks to go until our average last frost date. That means I got to sow lots of cool weather crops indoors!
I wanted some lettuce last weekend and picked up a “Living” butter lettuce from WinCo. It’s lettuce that has been grown hydroponically in a greenhouse and is sold with roots still attached.
Supposedly, keeping the roots on gives it a longer shelf-life (I cannot verify that claim).
Continue reading “Replanting “Living” Lettuce”This past weekend I was in Seattle, which means my gardening activities were limited to a balcony.
We’re only one month into winter and I’m already eagerly anticipating spring. I like to go around the yard and check on the early bloomers for any signs of color.
The buds on the flame azalea in the front yard are my favorite
Continue reading “Spring Blooms and Forcing Forsythia”The 2022 garden season is off to a great start! The first seeds planted – Walla Walla onions and White Bunching onions – have germinated right on schedule.
We are at 11 weeks until our average last frost date, and the next seeds that I’m starting this year are echinacea.
From what I’ve read online, it seems like I’m supposed to start echinacea 8-10 weeks before our last frost date, but I really wanted to plant something this weekend, and this seems like a good candidate.
Continue reading “Next Seeds of 2022: Echinacea”As I’ve mentioned before, I’m moving the bulk of the vegetable garden to the front yard.
My plans for the layout have been in flux. I originally imagined having two side-by-side 10’x3′ (roughly) slightly raised garden beds, similar to what exists in the backyard.
But that layout seems a bit boring to me. I want the front yard garden to be not only functional but also pretty to look at. I see the front yard garden every day as I go in and out of the house via the driveway, and our kitchen window and my bedroom window look out on it.
Currently, the yard is torn up where we pulled out the strawberry tree last fall. A big pile of compost, coffee grounds, and dirt sits in the hole now. I spent some time on Saturday leveling things out and mixing the compost in a little bit. As I was working I played with different configurations for the garden.
The space I have to work with here is roughly 15′ x 15′. My current plan is to divide it into four quadrants with two paths running perpendicular to each other through the square. The paths will be roughly 2 feet wide, which means each quadrant will be about 6’x6′. Plenty of space!
I imagine putting a trellis of beans in the center garden plot (or I could put four trellises – one in the center of each quadrant….hmmmm….). I can use one quadrant for tomatoes, one plot for onions, one plot for squash, etc. Or I can put squash around the outside and let them sprawl over the lawn and then plant rows of vegetables radiating toward the center.
There are so many ways I could arrange this space! And the fun part is: I can do it one way this year and change it up in years to come. And I still have a flower garden to plan and plant this year too!
Still not much actual gardening is happening this early in January. I’m planning to start some more seeds this weekend, and it is supposed to be sunny (or at least not raining) both Saturday and Sunday, so we’ll see what other jobs in the garden I can find to do this weekend.
But in the meantime….I have nothing more to talk about than chervil. Are you tired of hearing about chervil yet? I harvested a bit of chervil to cook with! It’s looking really good on the porch.
It’s finally time! Time to start seeds for the 2022 gardening season. How exciting?!
The first seeds I have to start are onions, which are planted 10-12 weeks before your average last frost date.
Continue reading “Starting the First Seeds of 2022: Onions!!”The chervil seedlings that I started from seed in November are finally big enough (I hope) to be put outside.
After several days (weeks really!) of very nasty weather – very cold and very wet, snow and ice then buckets of rain – it was finally sunny today. It went outside and it felt like spring was coming!
Continue reading “The Chervil Is Growing Up”