Gardening ramblings...

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.  ~Lindley Karstens

This is the first year that I've done a bit more than just dabbled in the garden, and I must say I am loving every minute of it. When I find that I have a spare twenty minutes in my day, rather than pulling out my sewing machine, or even picking up a book, more and more I find myself going outside to inspect the progress of my tiny garden; or better yet, putting on my gardening gloves and doing some digging.

It's not only the sheer delight of the growing green things, the smell of the dirt, or the promise of tasty vegetables to come. I really enjoy the uncertainly of my success with any given plant--it's so interesting, in a scientific sort of way, to see what happens after I place those seedlings (or those seeds) in the ground. For this reason I admit I haven't been quite as careful with some of my plants as all the gardening books recommend, because I wanted to see if what they all said was true.

So far, I have found that many of those warnings are true! The rather small tomato seedlings we planted on May 10 at my grandmother's house, and did not cover with plastic, were noticeably frost damaged. And one of the seedlings shrivelled up entirely. Also on that day we planted some cantaloupe seedlings, which were destroyed by the cold night that followed. I didn't know the temperature was going to dip that night--next time I plant a bunch of seedlings I will check the weather forcast more carefully! And if I am going to plant out tomatoes when there is even a small chance of subsequent frost, I will cover them with a some kind of plastic, or at least put down some black plastic to warm the soil.

May, in fact, has been disappointingly cold so far. But perhaps the warm weather is finally here--it's going up to 27 C today,  which is rather hot,  and should warm the soil nicely. I planted out my last few seedlings today--more tomatoes, and my reserve melon seedlings. It was fun. I love, love, love planting things. Too bad that I am now officially out of room in our tiny yard. I guess I can always squeeze in a few more pots...

Although the weather has been quite cool the past few weeks,  the potato plants are looking impressively lush...I am starting to think that I shouldn't have planted 5 seed potatoes in one box! But I was afraid that some of them wouldn't come up at all because I hadn't bothered to chit them. No need to fear, they're doing well, and I'm starting to look forward to some delicious baked spuds a few months from now.

Other plants seem to need the heat much more...the parsley seedlings I put out the first week of May are pathetically small still--it will be a while before I can clip any fresh parsley! The pumpkin plants I put out a while ago have hardly grown either. The chives that came up from last year's bunch are quite abundant though, and the raspberries plants are looking very healthy.

In a shady corner of the yard where I don't expect any vegetables could grow, I have a few herbs and flowers. The Jacob's Ladder are blooming right now, aren't they pretty?

All in all it was a very pleasant morning, puttering in the garden while the children played nearby, with the feel of summer in the air.