Gardening!

[reishka]

It’s never too early in the year to start planning a garden, right? In a week or so, I should be able to start sowing seeds indoors! I’m excited. Last year, tomatoes not withstanding, my garden failed pretty horribly. I don’t think the area where my garden is got enough sun — there was a large Forsythia blocking the morning sun (I say was because hubby and I knocked it down later in the summer), and large overhead trees blocked out the afternoon/evening sun. This year, we need to do one of two things: Get a tree guy to come out and knock out some of the trees (or at least some branches on some trees), or I need to move my garden. Where to move it to, I’m not exactly sure. I don’t want a garden in my front yard, but that’s the only place I’m guaranteed full afternoon sun. My backyard is super-shady.

My Yard!

See what I mean? That’s the beast of a Forsythia that was out front; that white line is where my neighbour’s yard begins. My raised garden beds are right behind the Forsythia, just to the right of the white line. So, not a lot of sun…

Having someone come out and take a look at our trees is a while off yet. In the meantime, I can set up my growing station in the basement and get started on those seeds! I grew up having a backyard garden and it’s something I’d really like to continue. This year, I’m planning:

Tomatoes: Orange Paruche, Brandywine

Peppers: Sweet Rainbow

Cucumbers: Diva

Squash: 8-ball, Zucchini

Leek: Lincoln

Watermelon: Not decided yet. Something small

Spinach

Mixed Lettuce/Salad Lettuce

Herbs:

Basil. Lots and lots of Basil (purple, sweet)

Dill

Flat-leaf Parsley

Cilantro

Mint

Chives

I’m scaling back on what I plant, based on last year. I had a LOT of stuff in those beds… so hopefully this year will go a little better. The Forsithya is a shadow of what it used to be – which is sort of a shame, as I really liked the way that it looked. It just got a little too wild. We also had our driveway paved/tarred last year, and that was another reason we had to cut it back. But.. I’m looking forward! It needs some trimming, but we can make it a nice shape and hopefully keep it from hurting the garden.