An Early Spring

Though I feel a bit guilty for not tuning into "You Bet Your Garden" yet this year, I was ready to for the early plantings after receiving the inordinate amount of catalogues I requested. Lucious vegetables and fruits called and like a lusty shopper, I listed.

Big Lots had this 3-tiered 'greenhouse' for $20.

• Cherry Chocolate Tomatoes
• Several pasting tomatoes
• Pineapple Ground Cherries
• Purple Tomatillos
• 8 Ball, Patty Pan and Black Zucchini Squash
• Broccoli
• Purple and green cabbage
• brussel sprouts
• tiny cantelope melons
• canary melons
• shallots
• rainbow mix carrots, 
• bush beans and peas
• pickles
• parsley
• thyme
• American Cranberry
• sweet woodruff
• Basil, oregano, cilantro
• Arugula and other lettuce and some edible flowers
• Sweet potatoes

So many good things to plant in my five 5'x5' raised beds. I had to relinquish the ground cherries and tomatillos for now. Let's see if I buy enough of the market cans to justify putting up my own.

I started out at Mother Earth News Free Trial Garden Planner and in the interim, a kindly neighbor dropped by three boxes of wood slats that I though would hold my pallet gardens. Fill with dirt, put pallets at the angle on top and voila! I stop leaking dirt with each watering and have multidimensional salad and herb beds. A good idea until the early peas, romaine, pickles, and other starts started too well. My problem remains, though. Too many things to plant and not enough space. It is a repeat of decorating my house many years ago. I thought I needed every idea that was lovely in my own home. Turns out, I can cycle plants more justifiably than art or decor, and I can admire and sample new stuff from the farmer's market without committing it all to my ground. I need to focus on what I can put up and not waste in what is allotted in my yard Oh, and share with those neighbors.

My ambitions had been fueled by eight hours of garden arranging with my new Mother Earth News tool, that links a gardener with planting times, places to buy seeds and plants, and species info on some of the popular garden plants.  I needed those boxes for resettling my lettuce at least. Two are 3'x3'x4". They are not deep enough for more than small salad and herbs plants. One is 8" deep. As the March 7th temps soared to near 70 degrees here in Indiana, I wanted those lovely starts to get some face time with the sun. Yesterday I made those boxes a new identity. Cold frames. I also got an email about that free-trial. Times up. I'm not sure if I'll pay for it, though I'd review it the best of the tools I fiddled with. It was patient in emailing me, not pushy about fees, a good-one stop off-my-hard-drive place to research, model and plan. I just don't know if I'm too lazy to use it and justify the cause. I do recommend it, though.

I've already bought a 20 dollar 3-tiered 'greenhouse' from Big Lots. It's in my window, see the picture. I'm too lazy to haul it in and out of doors in these bi-weathered days of 25 degree nights and 60 degree days. It's holding more plants than I can start. Broccoli is on hold for the moment.

So here we go. A new season, already.

After Dianne admonished me to stop starting melons and pickles and squash I found this affirmation from NPR's The Salt Blog and the director of the National Arboretum.

Happy Spring, everyone. Don't forget to spring forward!