The First Hints of Spring {Prepping the Garden for 2022}
The birds are chirping. The sun is shining. Spring is most certainly in the air this week! While we’re not quite out of winter’s grasp completely just yet, the change of seasons is on the horizon. Here in Atlanta we’ve had some absolutely stunning weather this past week. I’ve tried to get outside as much as possible–either doing outdoor workouts with clients, running or getting the garden prepped for spring planting.
We can’t get too zealous just yet with planting things outdoors, but I have started some late winter/early spring seedlings in the hope that I’m not too late. A bit of broccoli, kohlrabi, beets and radishes are sprouting. Along with some happy-looking snow peas. This is my first time trying peas, but I do hope they make it to harvest stage as I love eating them! These are from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, the variety is Green Beauty.
I’ve also gotten some fresh herb seeds going, as well. We still have the rampant mint, lemon balm and oregano that just keeps going from year to year, but it’s always nice to plant some other items in the mix. Basil is a must, as is dill, parsley and cilantro. I opted for a few new items to try this year including the Bronze Fennel and Orangelo Thyme. The boyfriend propagated a lot of basil from clippings last year, but it all died off in the winter. It was nice to find out how to do that, though, so once we have a few plants we can just keep clipping new growth all season long!
I’m itching to get the tomatoes, cukes, squash and other later spring items in, but I think we have some cooler weather coming this week that is probably best to wait on sowing any of those seeds. Patience is always hard to come by this time of year after the barren winter! With no greenhouse it is best to find my reserves, however. Here in the South, the growing season is plenty long enough, so later is often better than too early.
Besides the few seedlings coming along, it is mostly just prep work for now. Since this weekend was so stunning, we spent some time outside pulling up any old growth in the raised beds and refilling with fresh compost. I did put some bok choy seedlings and radishes in two of these raised beds, but I believe I got a little heavy handed with the seeds and some are way too close together! I’ll wait and see if any die off before I try thinning them out to have more space. Usually the boyfriend does all of this work, but since he picked up a new job I’m helping more to make sure we stay on top of things. I’m actually enjoying taking a bigger role in it so far. Especially since I actually remember what I’ve planted so far…and where.
I did purchase one new raised bed to add to our growing space this year. Nothing fancy. Just a 4-foot-by-4-foot composite bed. We tend to run out of room with all that I like to try to grow, so we were definitely due some more space. Especially since the pallet bed that the BF made a few years ago is starting to fall apart. I stuck with just one so far to see how well it holds up, but if it seems to last I’ll order more for next year. One of these days I’ll have the whole yard set for planting. 😉
We also bought this nifty hand tiller to help us attack the existing beds. I have read pros and cons to tilling the soil or not, but given our soil here is mostly clay…I think it was time to give it a try. The benefits of tilling are better aerated soil, mixing in the organic material and nutrients throughout, breaking up persistent weeds and possible disruption of the pest cycle. Some of the negatives are that the soil may not hold onto moisture as well and you may also disrupt the good organisms (like worms).
Every year the hornworms seem to get worse in attacking our tomatoes. Even getting to the eggplant like crazy last year. As much as I hate harming any creature, the idea of disrupting the larvae that overwinters in the garden soil is an attractive one. I am sure there will still be plenty that make it through to munch voraciously on our tomatoes, so I’m not feeling too badly about any collateral damage on that front. We tried not to go too crazy and let any worms we saw wriggle back down in the freshly churned soil. We will layer some more fresh compost from the bin on top to finish off before really getting into planting.
The bed pictured above has been extremely unproductive for a number of years now, but when we used the tiller we broke up a whole web of roots buried throughout the soil. Most from the rampant oregano that creeps its way into the main bed, but perhaps some older old root systems that were hindering new growth, as well. It would be like having a whole new bed to get this one thriving again!
Now if we could only keep the squirrels away from the tomatoes, we’d really be in business, haha!
I’m excited about the growing season ahead. This time of year always holds so much promise for what’s to come. We are still learning each year, but it’s fun to see how far we have come along in our growing endeavors. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of misses in with the hits, and if all else fails, I have the best farmers to keep my kitchen stocked up otherwise.
I’ll leave you with the first tiny little strawberry buds that I found while cleaning up those beds. We’re on our last bag of frozen strawberries from last year, so I’m probably most antsy for berry season to start soon! Until then, happy growing everyone!
