an earnest progression

I love this time of year. I don't think I ever remember just how much until it comes again. The snows (fingers crossed) have stopped, we are getting the more than occasional thunderstorm, the yard is thick and green again, and new life is popping up out of the woodwork. Spring even smells different- it's a sweet, earthy, breathy smell. One of new hope & excitement.

I've been spending lots of time doing garden things today so maybe that's why I'm feeling a bit more passionate than usual. First, Drew and I decided to stop by Echter's. It's a nursery and greenhouse complex that we have driven by on occasion but never actually investigated. Let me just tell you that we have been MISSING OUT! I have a feeling that Echter's could end up a post in its own right, but suffice it to say that I will NEVER go someplace like Home Depot or Lowe's for garden needs again. Though I was like a kid in a candy store, I was able to limit to myself to my actual needs of the day: seeds and potting soil. They had a huge selection and I was able to find all of the seeds I was looking for... except for arugula. I don't actually blame them- for some reason arugula seemed to be missing from every store I went into. Must be popular this year! A fat stack of organic seed packets later, we were on our way. I'll have to remember that they sell seed potatoes and onion sets as well!

Later I checked on my garlic patch. Last fall I planted culinary and elephant garlic cloves in a small plot in the back yard. I didn't have much hope for them because I noticed the dogs sniffing around the patch almost immediately, and while it was surrounded by a small garden fence, it's not nearly enough to keep my beasts out. Gabe (my German Shepherd), in particular, could be seen at any time snuffling around or even dozing within the confines of that patch. Then one day last week I went back there and noticed plants! And not just small ones- my garlic is having a field day! I'm so excited. I hope this means that they are hardy and I'll actually be able to get a harvest out of them. Not all of them did sprout, but it looks like right now I have 10 culinary garlic plants. The elephant garlic seems to be a bit slower and two of those are now starting to nose their way out of the ground. I am beyond thrilled.

Next, I had to transplant my tomato seedlings. I probably should have actually done this last week, but I got lazy. The tomatoes have sprouted their second set of leaves and had quite obviously outgrown their temporary greenhouse. I was initially wondering how I would accommodate them. I no longer had any of the plastic nursery pots from last year's store bought plants and I was dreading having to spend money on a temporary home for them. Then I ran across The Kitchen Witch's Garden where she had the ingenious idea of using plastic cups! I had about a million plastic cups from various parties I've thrown that I'd likely never use yet I refused to throw away! Problem solved! So today the seedlings were thinned (which was very sad) and transplanted into their new homes. We actually had to move our dining table in front of the window to accommodate all of them but they seem very happy now!
I used the now-empty tomato greenhouse to start some new seedlings! I planted Anaheim peppers, okra, Brussels sprouts, and cucumber. I hope they do as well as the rest of my seeds have!

The bell peppers and eggplant are still in their open greenhouse tray but I will likely transplant them into cups next weekend. Next weekend should be a big one for the garden- I anticipate the rest of our beds being built as well as our soil delivery!

Then, to cap the day off, I found arugula seeds while grocery shopping at Vitamin Cottage tonight. YAY!

So much hope! So much potential!