It Begins

We were pretty bad about cooking meals last week (the only meal we ate at home was delivery pizza), so unfortunately I don't have a recipe post for you this week.  However, we can talk about something equally as exciting - this year's vegetable garden!  Yes, it's a little early.  But with the amazingly warm and beautiful weather we've been having, can you blame me for being anxious to get outside and grow something wonderful?  I don't think you can.

My original plan was to expand the garden again.  The first spring I lived here, it was pretty small.  Last year I doubled the size, and my intention to double it again, expanding it out into the parking area.  However, in
order to do that I'd have to move the fence.  If I move the fence, I'm going to have to figure out how to move the gate. And all of this will make my yard a weird asymmetrical shape, which makes me uncomfortable.  So I don't think I am going to expand after all.  But I was pretty excited about growing a lot of vegetables, and there's no way to fit everything in the current vegetable patch.  So I'm going to try my hand as some container gardening.  I've been doing a lot of research and I think this is completely
do-able.  Here's the list so far:

Garden:
Corn
Sugar Peas
Zucchini
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrots
Beets

Containers:
Green Beans
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Strawberries

I'm thinking about growing some pumpkins and butternut squash out in the parking area, since I don't want them vining all over and smothering all the other plants in the garden.  But Chris has expressed some doubts about this plan, so I'm not sure yet.  I really don't know what he has against the idea of our own personal pumpkin patch.  I'm a bit up in the air about the corn, since I was so disappointed when all my beautiful ears were ruined by bugs last year, but I'm willing to try again.  After all, I'm still planting cucumbers again and I have not yet grown one successfully in the three years I've been trying.  Kim had a lot of luck with cucumbers in a container last year, so I am hopeful.  I tried them in a container the first year, but that was at the apartment and they were probably not getting adequate sun on our tiny balcony.

So far I've torn down most of the big stuff from last year's garden and have gotten started on about a third of the weeds.  I really should have done all of this last fall, but alas.  I want to get the sugar peas in the ground as soon as possible, so I'm hoping to have all the dirt turned and ready to go by the weekend.  I also want to get the lettuce started, so I suppose I'd better buy a container for it.  Kim and I are going to the greenhouse again this weekend (we went last weekend as well, just for scouting purposes), so that shouldn't be a problem.  Or maybe I'll use one of the various empty pots I've got sitting out on the side porch.  I wonder if any of them are large enough...