Spring lettuce!

At long last, we have a little home-grown, fresh produce. I planted this batch of spring lettuce on March 21, and it was ready to harvest for a decent-sized salad on May 3. I had to use the cold frames to protect the lettuce on a couple of chilly nights, but March 21 was not too early to plant. The CHALLENGE: can I get an earlier harvest next year? I'd like to say yes, but sometimes it's so cold I can't bear to drop the tiny seeds. But, the gauntlet has been thrown. Move aside, former Floridian, next year we'll eat salad in April!

What's poking up in my garden?

Time to start looking for some rhubarb and chive recipes. I'm most excited about the chives for some reason. There's nothing better than snipping some chives over scrambled eggs, or adding them to your favorite biscuit or savory scone recipe. My kids have always loved chives, so it's an easy way to liven up our spring plates.

Dr. Ott's Morning Glory

In the cold of winter, I had envisioned the trellised side of our deck covered with morning glories. I purchased Dr. Ott's variety (Cook's Garden) mostly because I liked the name. I think it gave me the image of a gentile, older man puttering in his plant-filled backyard, bordered with a white picket fence.

I tried to start the seeds early, but several of them died due to less than ideal basement growing conditions. Most of the seeds I directly sowed in early June. I will definitely look at this post in February to get me through the brutal end of winter.

A Freebie

I went to my local garden store last week to pick up some 75% off annuals and fertilizer. After I checked out the cashier told me I could help myself to some shrubs they were trying to get rid of. We don't have a lot of landscaping around our house yet so I knew I could find a home for this colorful plant. It's called Dream Catcher Beautybush. Right now it may not look so beautiful, but it's supposed to be covered with pink flowers in the spring. I'll take a picture then and we'll see what becomes of it. In any case, I will feel content knowing I saved a plant from an uncertain future.

Spinach Salad, anyone?

I got too busy last fall to seed this bed with spinach, but I lazily left some growing in our raised bed. I had thought that this spinach would have been frozen and killed by our chilly temps (-10 degrees perhaps being the lowest this year?). This photo was taken on March 23rd, 2009; the spinach had thawed, perked up, and was ready for a salad. Not what I intended, but a delightful outcome nonetheless.