Week 5

30 days of progress

3 bags of soil and compost to motivate me

For the first time, I can breathe. The garden is more than complete per my original plans. Here is what I have in my garden so far:

• Herb Garden: Chives, Garlic Chives, Lavender, Mint, Chamomile, Cilantro, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Parsley.
• Lettuces: Romaine, Black Seeded Simpson, Sylvestra, Buttercrunch, Mesclun Mix

Romaine Lettuce

• Greens: Spinach, Kale, Broccoli
• Other: Cucumber, Summer Squash, Roma Tomatoes, Delicious Tomato, Orange Wellington Hybrid Tomato
• Legumes: Mellow Yellow Bush Beans, Bush Blue Lake Beans, and an improved Bush Blue Lake variety.
• Fruits: Strawberries (transplanted from other areas of the garden) and Peaches (thank you previous home owner!)

I made miniature green houses out of plastic containers and milk jugs for the tomato plants so I could sow them directly in the ground. If you put a stick through the container and into the ground, it won't disappear on you. I have noticed less squirrels lately and I'm not sure why, but I'm not complaining.

The potatoes are making a full recovery from the late frost and they have grown back with a vengeance. I have thinned out all of the sprouts from my early planting except for the onions. I'm waiting on bush bean plants, more peas, squash, cucumber, tomatoes, and a row of herbs listed above to start sprouting up from their raised beds.

The strawberry blossoms are fading away to reveal green fruit that will hopefully grow in size and ripen for the picking. The mesclun mix of salad greens are looking more beautiful with each day and getting closer to the dinner table. My wife and I have already picked out a yummy vinaigrette to put over the top of our salads.