May 17, 2010

Spring finally seems to have arrived

One of the great pleasures of a gardener is to go outside in the morning and look at her/his plants, the seedlings, the soil and budding leaves and flowers. This morning I took a tour of the seed rows I planted before this last storm. I was so surprised and gratified to find the peas which I was sure would be rotted, sprouting! It just goes to show that nature has a mind of her own. Some of the mesclun is also showing it's first leaves. It brings such joy to the heart to be a part of this process, to be sowing and hopefully reaping the fruits of your own labor.

The strawberries are covered with flowers. I will weed them once more; to get the most from the bed, it has to be kept well weeded and fertilized. In many places the strawberries are so thick the weeds aren't a problem but in some places the grass has infiltrated the plants and I will have to dig it out. But strawberries, quarts and quarts of them are on the way.

There is still some kale, which although flowering will provide tasty leaves for stir frys until the lettuce is ready to begin eating. And I have several cilantro plants that overwintered and are going to seed where I will let them reseed and replenish that tasty garnish.