Just Let a Few Weeds Grow

[Note the above pic is from the 2008 garden] The garden is already bursting with life. The mild Utah winter didn't force many perennials into dormancy, and a few tenders and annuals actually pulled through. If you read my entry, "January Broccolli" you have a general idea how alive our garden was all through the winter. To get you up to speed, allow me to offer a brief (potentially boring) synopsis of where the 2009 garden stands to date. Officially, Rainbow chard, sorrel, Chinese cabbage, and dandelions (one man's weed - another man's medicinal herb and delicious salad green) survived the winter and are already harvestable. Broccoli and brussel sprouts pulled through the winter and are setting fruit. Fall planted carrots and onions are doing great. the carrots are harvestable but not sweet enough to bother yet. Cilantro, chamomile, bachelor buttons, cosmos, and sunflowers reseeded and are popping up all over the garden. The last week in march, we seeded in new cold weather veggies and salad greens with the exception of peas, beets. turnips, and radishes. Little baby salad is popping up all over. On Sunday I planted turnips, beets, and radishes. Yesterday I planted peas. Today it snowed. Ah, spring in the rockies. Now for the gardening wisdom of the day: I am absolutely fascinated by the life in the garden (although I could do without the volunteer grass). If I did nothing but water the garden from here on out, I am certain it would be beautiful; full of wildflowers and volunteer crops. Last year a petunia volunteered on the edge of a bed. Somehow a little seed survived the winter and the decomposing power of the compost pile, was turned into the soil as compost in the spring and by mid summer was a proud and beautiful flower. Several fruit producing squash and the biggest cosmo I have ever seen sprung forth from compost crumbs around the bin. The year before a tomato volunteered in front of our mailbox and actually produced fruit despite our neglect. My devoted plant-loving counterpart transplanted a mystery weed all over the garden last year in hopes that it would bloom and attract pollinating insects. When plants volunteer I try to let them be. If they are in a really poor location, I try to transplant them to a more favorable spot, but I never assume a weed is a weed is a weed. People always comment on how beautiful our garden is. In truth, if we pulled everything that we didn't plant on purpose our garden would be very dull and very void of color. Our weeds are often wildflowers and wildflowers attract beneficial insects and guests with mojitos. The moral of todays blog post? I challenge you to let a few "weeds" grow. You may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

I Declare: It is Officially Gardening Season.

Ahhh. . A warm spring rain to liven things up a bit. Indeed it has been a long strange winter and the spring has tested my patience. But, today, today my friends, it is officially gardening season. Seed sales are up this year as people scramble to save on grocery bills. "recession gardens," are replacing 10x10 blocks of sod all over the U.S. Hooray! Gardening is therapy. It is a welcome respite from your stressful life. In the garden, everything is magical and life outside the garden is suddenly less earth-shattering. So, for those of you just starting out, I would like to first offer my congratulations; quickly followed by my condolences. My first garden flopped hard, but I learned from my mistakes and my second garden kicked ass! So, don't give up. The Green Dog Blog will follow my garden this year every step of the way: from seeds to canning. I will share with you my tips and tricks as well as the lessons learned the hard way. Gardening isn't just a hobby for me. The packaging and food miles involved in 'buying' food turns my stomach; and I am a huge proponent of knowing where my food came from. It doesn't get any closer than your own backyard. To all you new gardeners out there, welcome to a wonderful lifelong obsession. To all you seasoned gardeners out there, please share your knowledge, and GAME ON!

A welcome back gift from the garden

It's Mid-march in Utah. It will surely snow again, and again and again. Last year it snowed in June. But, this past week has been as sunny and wonderful as any spring day can be. The soil is workable. The last snow storm has melted nearly completely. The tulips are breaking the surface and my perennials are breaking dormancy. The garden beckons and as tempting as it is to get out there and dive in head long, I know better. I had a failure or two last year, resulting directly from my haste to rush spring along. patience, they say, is a virtue. And what gardener isn't full of virtue? So, I must wait. But we did take advantage of the workable soil. We dug out a new flower bed, divided perennials, transplanted a few plants from last years 'nursery' to this years flower garden, planted cold weather crops: broccoli, brussel sprouts, chinese cabbage, spinach, kale, chard, lettuce etc.; and laid down the compost crop in this year's fallow bed. I started to prune last years dead growth from a few perennials but resisted the temptation to continue further. Last falls cold weather crop bed is bursting with life. I was actually able to make a salad with chinese cabbage and carrots. And that brings me to my point: carrots are an interesting crop. Carrots can be stored under ground through the winter. The colder it gets, the sweeter they are in the spring. So here we are in March, much too early to enjoy mounds of homegrown organic produce on the counter, yet pounds and pounds of enormous sweet carrots are piled on my counter. How delightful! A little gift from the garden, a welcome back gift of sorts.

A little peak at spring

Although today is gray and dreary, the beauty of yesterday lives still. Golden sun rays exploded through the sky and whispered a forecast of spring. I went outside in my t-shirt and jeans. The sun penetrated my skin and warmed my soul. My dogs chased and played like dogs do. They rolled in the grass and laid on their backs. The sun warmed their souls too. The tortoise, whose life couldn't be more depressing in the winter, showed visible signs of delight. His eyes opened wide. He stretched his limbs and stood as tall as he could. His neck stretched aaall the way out of his shell, and I can't be sure, but I think he smiled. My task of the day: The great spring poop round-up - a decidedly unpleasant task. But, I didn't mind in the least. My muscles quickly fell into the familiar routine of raking and bending and lifting and squatting and all the movements associated with yard work. It felt wonderful to have my old gardening gloves on - the leather perfectly molded to my hands. Those gloves are well acquainted with the handle of a rake, and immune to the torment of my singing. My next door neighbor is very particular about his yard. Last year, we beat him to the first official yard task of the season. But, he was out there the very next day. I glanced over his fence and noted he hadn't yet started spring clean-up. I wondered if he would see my rake and misinterpret my task as "yard work." Although tempting, the piles of melting snow and an ominous forecast of at least one more good snow storm discouraged me from considering starting any "projects." But, it didn't discourage my neighbor. He was outside first thing this morning with a rake and a snow shovel. Yes, he literally shoveled the snow off his grass to rake it. I chuckled to myself. "well, then. Let the yard wars begin."