Dreaming of Green

Saturday was a garden work day.  The weather was wonderful, and the soil has the perfect moisture for working up a good seed bed.  But, despite all the good work we were able to do, and the good time we had doing it, the garden isn't very lively right now.  It's mostly shades of brown and gold (mud, leaves, sticks, mulch, and straw).  Every year there is a day in the spring when I realize that the world is vibrant green, and and it seems like it happened overnight.  When I look at these photos from the summer before last it's hard to comprehend that the yard ever looked this green even though I know it's just a matter of weeks or days before it will again.  

These photos are from one of my favorite days.  My nieces and parents were visiting and we had a great time running in the sprinklers.  The garden was growing fast, but still in that early stage when the weeds and bugs were under control and there had been no garden disappointments yet.  Look how tall the asparagus was!  It's the tall fern like plant on right, behind the little pear tree in the foreground.   I just chopped down the half rotten asparagus stalks to make room for this years crop.  I expect we will have our fist stalks any day now. 

In this photo you can see the strawberry patch on the left and the mint on the right.  Strawberries straight from the plant that are warm from the sun are the best.  If only the stupid chickens would learn to tell when a strawberry is ripe without having to take a bite!

When I made the first few raised garden beds, I used treated lumber.  Since then I've learned that you shouldn't used chemically treated wood near food plants because they can absorb toxins from the wood.

For my most recent beds, in the photos above, we used cedar fence planks.  They aren't that old, but we had to do some repairs this weekend because the boards are starting to warp.  Otherwise, they are working pretty well, but the edge is narrow, so they aren't comfortable to sit on or kneel on while weeding.  

 

Even though my garden is small, it's the perfect size for little kids to play.   There's lots of nooks for playing hide and seek.   

It's shame you can't just enjoy the day and your juice box without your annoying aunt taking your picture all the time!