Springtime, the Only Pretty Ring Time

My seeds are sprouting! What Joy is Mine!
These are Rattlesnake Beans (isn't that a great name?) and the little greenery in the background are Thai Long Beans.

Everything is starting to sprout that I planted a few weeks ago, so that is a wonderful sign. The peppers, which I planted last, are the last to show, but that's okay. I learned from last year's garden that peppers will keep growing well into winter here, so I planned to plant them last.

It took several weeks of preparing the beds, digging deep to till the soil, then adding in wheelbarrows full of peanut mulch to the turned dirt. After that, I added wheelbarrows full of composted cow manure to provide more nutrients. The peanut mulch should continue to break down and add nutrients (as well as water-holding capability) to the quick draining, nutrient-poor soil.

It took several days to plant all the seeds - this is the largest garden I've ever had, I think (haven't figured out square footage).

The garden this year is very experimental. I planted many items several times in different areas - sometimes in part shade, sometimes in full sun, sometimes trellised, sometimes free. I'm going to look at their progress and see what works best for the plants.

I don't have too many types of tomatoes, but I should have a lot of plants (if they survive) so hopefully I'll get a good production this year.

I'm interested to see what the difference in soil will bring about for the plants. Last year, they were planted in straight mulch. Some plants I even planted right next to each other this year, but some were planted in the prepared soil mix I made, and some were planted in the plain ol' sand, literally within inches of each other.

Here is a list of everything I'm growing this year (for those of you interested - I know some people definitely are, and some definitely are not!):

Maters
Early Wonder Tomato
Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge Tomato
Floradade Tomato
Homestead Tomato
White Currant Tomatoes

Beans & Peas
Chinese Red Noodle Bean
Chinese Mosaic Bean
Thai #2 Seeded Long Bean
Rattlesnake Pole Bean
Christmas Lima Bean
Shelling Peas #9
Shelling Peas, Oregon Sugar Pod

Cucumbers
Thai Green Cucumber
Telegraph Improved Cucumber
Yok Kao Cucumber

Squash
Luffa
White Bush Scallop Squash
Black Beauty Squash (Zucchini)
Early Prolific Straightneck Squash
Gaggle of Gourds

Peppers
Ethnic Sweet Carmen Pepper
Hungarian Wax Pepper
California Wonder Sweet Pepper
Serrano del Sol Pepper
Thai Red Chilli Pepper
Jimmy Nardello Pepper
Tam Jalapeno
Anaheim Pepper

Greens
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Arugula
Pepper Cress
Garden Cress
Siamese Dragon Stir Fry Mix
Lettuce Mereille de Quatre Saisons
Rocky Top Lettuce Mix
Mesclun Mix

Miscellaneous
Tomatillo Verde
Saxa 2 Radish
Lemongrass
Edible Flower Mix
Wilson Sweet Watermelon
Onions
Garlic
Yarrow

Herbs and Spices
Sage
Dill
Genovese Basil
Italia Large Leaf Basil
Rosemary
Parsley
Wild Zaatar Oregano
Thyme
Culantro
Cilantro
Slo-Bolt Cilantro
Thai Sweet Basil
Siam Queen Thai Basil
Thai Holy Basil
Turmeric
Chives

The herbs growing in their pots.

Tomatoes, Lettuce and Squash in their little planter.

The azaleas are blooming!
My whole laundry room (they're right outside of the laundry room window) is pink from the light filtering through their petals. My very own La Vie en Rose. :)

I've got Spring Fever so I've been listening to a lot of madrigals and classical music that celebrate Spring! Love it! (And hence, the title of this post, which is from Shakespeare's As You Like It, and written by Thomas Morley. I sang it in college choir.)

Happy Days.

PS> This post was written yesterday and due to some technical difficulties, didn't make it up til today.  But, that allows me a side note about today: 

I went outside this morning and was greeted by sweet, fresh, flower-scented air.  It was so delicious, I called the boys out to smell it.  I don't know what it was, but it was definitely Spring in the Air! :) 

So, I spent all morning in the garden, weeding, planting (flowers), and re-stoning the garden.  I swept up the front walk, swept out the garage, tended the compost, and raked the leaves from the "shade" garden - which is directly under an oak tree.  I set up stakes for tomatoes, and devised a system to plant more maters with fewer stakes (I'm low on bamboo stakes for some reason - can't find the ones we had last year)...so hopefully that will work.

Anyway, the garden is really taking shape, moreso than it ever did last year, and I'm really pleased with its progress.  Yay, a tidy front yard garden that isn't an eyesore of neve- finished-ness!

Happy days!