March 2022 – Becoming A Gardener

Hardening off Tomatoes

Our last frost date is April 2, so it’s time to plant the tomatoes.

Their roots are pushing out of their newspaper pots, so they couldn’t be more ready for a new home.

Starting the Flower Garden

Yesterday I added the first flowers to the new Flower Garden.

That’s what I’m calling this spot of land next to the driveway. It has a magnolia tree and an azalea bush, and we usually grow dahlias here, but this year I want to have lots of flowers in this space.

Springtime In Seattle

I’m up in Seattle this weekend, which means no gardening can get done, but on the bright side, it’s cherry blossom time at UW.

Transplanting Brassicas

I’ve had my brassica seedlings on the porch for the past couple of days so they could get acclimated (“hardening them off”).

It’s time to plant them!

Potato Time (and Bok Choy and Parsley)

I’ve got a couple of potatoes in a cabinet that I’ve been hanging on to….

…waiting for the right time to plant them.

Two Years of Becoming A Gardener!

Happy Spring Equinox! I almost blew past the two year anniversary of this site. It feels like no time has passed at all since starting this little project and yet, a whole lot has happened.

The Gardens of Spain

Today, I’m sharing some photos of the flora I saw in Madrid and Barcelona. The climate in Spain is most similar to (of the places I’m familiar with) California. Highs in the 60s during the day, but down into the 40s at night. One thing I found surprising was the number of deciduous trees in Madrid. The parks at this time of year looked dead. As we took the train from Madrid to Barcelona, the scenery got progressively greener, as most trees in Barcelona are evergreen.

Seed Starting Fatigue

I’ve started a lot of seeds this year. This was the first weekend that I just didn’t feel like it. Maybe I could blame my lack of motivation on daylight savings, but that wouldn’t be true. My seed starting trays are crowded. The seedlings at the edge of the trays are having to stretch to the reach the artificial light. I want to get stuff moved out into the garden, but the brassicas are just too small still.