2021 Garden Begins!!

 The past few weeks I have been doing what I should have done this Fall... building up the garden beds. I am regretting not doing it sooner as weeds are everywhere and it is taking so much longer. I was just done last Fall after the circle garden project. It took forever!! We did somewhat reclaim the circle garden so I think it was worth it. Still wish I had found the energy to get the beds together. 

To be honest, though, my energy the past few years to do anything extra just hasn't been there. Even before the pandemic work was a struggle. I had one of the most hectic and tiring summer programs I had ever had so while I gardened there just wasn't much left to build up beds. I also didn't blog much or do many podcasts. Then there was 2020 and work was even busier - still is. I think I am in a better headspace and as things here are improving for the time being I am hoping to share the garden adventures again.

I think it is important to share not just the pretty pictures and the garden harvest, but also the not so pretty work that goes into everything. I have done blog posts and a podcast on lasagna gardening so I won't go in full detail but here is what mid project looks like:

As you can see I have only weeded a third of the bed, but you can see the process. Cardboard, scraps, a little dirt, and some leaves. As the season goes on there will be plenty of kitchen scraps and used coffee grounds as well as dried grass to add.  Right now I am debating on what to do with the space. Plant directly in, put pots over it and allow a year of recovery,  or a combination of both. We shall see what the garden season brings. I do plan on growing sweet potatoes in a potato grow bag to see how what goes so at least part of it will be covered. 

I have finished a few spots such as the grape vine area and where I will plant my tomatoes at:

Also, we need to mow and clean up the outside. Storms galore lately with high wind has blown everything (even trash) so many many places. Also, I did not do a good job trimming the grapevine, but figure we will see what happens from that. Future tomato area:

Now, let's see what we have managed to plant. It isn't a lit because we still have some freezing nights. 

Potatoes. I know it is probably a bit early for them and have doubts about whether the container will hold up, but since they were red potatoes that had sprouted I figured I had nothing to lose. I have been getting Misfits boxes (this is not an ad) and since they ship in sturdy boxes I piled two of those together. I put in some dirt and leaves and plopped those sprouted potatoes in. They are just now peeking out of the leaves. I will add some more lraves on today because it is supposed to be cold again tonight. I have already had to prop up the outer box so don't think it will make it long. However potatoes are often just hilled up in dirt so if it falls apart I will keep mounding it up and all should be well. Guess I will stick to placing the boxes down in the bottom layer of the lasagna method. 

We also have a very small patch of Spring or cool weather veggies under the porch steps. I have been covering them with a set of old curtains and so far that had protected them. I think part of that is the warmth from the leaves. I didn't put any cardboard or dirt down just veggies peelings, coffee grounds, and leaves. I made a hole in the lasagna area, put in a little dirt, and planted the starts. Then I put a bit more dirt around them and more leaves. 

We still managed to get a bit of variety in the bed. We have two types of lettuce: Romaine and red leaf (6 plants each):

We also planted 6 plants of kale:

Then 6 plants of brocolli:

At the edge Ibplanted some garlic and onion sets. The garlic has popped up but I just planted the onion sets last week. I also planted a row if onions in the grape vine bed but they also have not came up yet. 

I hope you have enjoyed our start of garden prep and tour. Have you started your garden yet or are you waiting for warmer weather crops? As always, happy gardening y'all!