Garden 2012

I can't believe it's February.  The temps are in the 70s and 80s.  And today was such a gorgeous day I just couldn't help myself.  I planted the culinary garden.   I picked up seeds and starters at The Farm Patch in Bryan, then brought 'em all home and stuck them in the ground.

It might not look like much right now.  But hopefully in a few weeks green shoots will start popping up and the starters I planted today will all have new growth.

In years past we've had a heck of a time with the garden. Much of the stuff I'm used to planting up North doesn't do so well in the heat here.  They'll start nicely in the early Spring then melt as soon as the temps get over 90 F. Last year's extreme heat and drought didn't help.  But the truth is we're still figuring this stuff out.

So this year I'm experimenting yet again.  I planted salad greens: lettuce and mescalin greens.  I planted one lone tomato just because I'm not ready to give up on trying to grow them.  I also planted some herbs: fennel, dill, peppermint, and "mojito" mint. Not sure what makes a mint mojito but I'm not overly concerned as long as it grows. And I planted some packets of seeds: okra, carrots, parsnips and beets.  I plant okra every year because it grows very well here, even in hot dry conditions.  And The Lovely Spouse wanted to experiment with root veggies.  Neither of us has ever grown them.

A few things survived the Winter: fennel, Greek oregano, rosemary (grows like Christmas trees here), arugula (rocket), and cabbage (now forming heads).

Gardening really is the ultimate exercise in optimism. We wouldn't plant things if we didn't at least hope they would grow.  Here's hoping for a wonderful growing season.  And no frost. 

[This post was created in Google Chrome.  Blogger works much better on my laptop from Chrome than it does with Explorer.  Just an FYI if you're also using blogspot.]