Yesterday I cleaned up the front garden. It took me all of 42 seconds. What a strange feeling that was.
What do people do in the spring when they don’t have a giant garden to tend to?
I didn’t need a wheelbarrow, or even a bucket. I held all the dried leaves and spent flowers in one hand, walked to the backyard and tossed them over the fence.
That was it. I haven’t decided if I missed the whole annual clean up task or if I’m actually relieved that I didn’t have to do it.
The HH and I are in garden bed negotiations. Have I mentioned this already? Basically I think we need flower beds on both sides of the long side garden.
He doesn’t think we need any. {Which is ridiculous}.
He also doesn’t think we need to plant anything along the back fence. So basically what this means is he just wants us to have a fence and some grass in the backyard.
How absurd is that?
Yesterday I spent about an hour or so moving the little landscaping flags around trying out different solutions. I still don’t have it figured out yet. All I know is that I want to do some vertical gardening and plant a bunch of stuff in pots.
We were originally thinking we would rip out the wooden platform in front of the garage door and replace it with a large stone {that would sit right in front of the door}.
But now we’re thinking we might just replace the top boards with cedar {the base is in good shape} and stain it to match the deck. What do you think?
Stone or wooden platform?
If we kept the platform I could put some terra cotta pots on the left side and grow some veggies {or flowers} in that spot.
Oh Lucy! She loves laying in the sun!
The peas I started from seed two weeks ago are ready to be hardened off. Yesterday was their first day outside.
Maybe by the weekend I’ll be able to put my garden cart out and offer the extras for sale.
I also dug out the seed starting trays and potting soil again so I could get the tomato seeds planted.
6 varieties of tomatoes should be enough, don’t you think?
I have absolutely NO IDEA where I’m going to put them, or even how many of each will end up in pots or tied up to a trellis, but who needs to worry about that right now.
I figure I’ll use what I can, give some to Kiln Guy and the rest of the tomato plants can go out on the cart and someone else in the neighborhood can grow them.
Have you planted {or bought} your tomatoes yet? How many varieties are you growing this year?
Anyone growing any unusual ones? Curious minds want to know. 🙂
Have a great day everyone.
~Mavis
Katy @Practical Walk says
I’m trying 2 kinds of tomatoes. Hoping they do okay, I’ve got so much to learn about gardening!
Eileen Stewart says
At this point, I have over 500 seedlings of 40 or so different varieties of veggies, flowers, and herbs. Of course, I do intend on selling a lot of those seedlings at the local flea market this Sunday! 😀 But I do have five types of tomato for the home garden – Amish Paste, Roma, Missouri Love Apple, Blushing Pinks and Cherries. Here’s to summer salads!
Lana says
Squirrels will not leave tomatoes alone here no matter what we do. It would be one thing if they took a tomato and ate it but they have to taste all the tomatoes as in pick one take a bite and throw it down and pick another until the plant is bare. The one I would grow is the Cherokee Purple if not for the little buggers. We have gotten them at the farmer’s market and they are divine.
So last summer we found the ‘Tomato Guy’ on Facebook Marketplace. Ten pounds of homegrown tomatoes that he picks when you order them for $8. I don’t think he weighs them nor knows that ten pounds is way less than the twenty big tomatoes he always gives us. Hubby meets him at a gas station about 8 miles from us and we are in tomato heaven. So why grow them and fight the squirrels?
Rosemary says
My garden is all planted. I have 18 tomato plants (beefsteak variety), 16 green beans, 16 corn, 6 bell peppers, 6 eggplant, 36 onions, a bunch of cucumbers, watermelon and pumpkins along with a small bed of wildflowers. All around the garden are marigold plants and mint plants (in planters) to help keep the insects away. I also planted strawberries, but they have not come up. I am thinking of planting something else in their spot. All in all, the garden is doing well and everything is growing.
Mel says
I’m not sure if it would be too much for the space, but you could also get planter boxes to hang on the fence to get a bit more growing space. If you got them in white, I think they would blend in. In addition to the beds, obviously. 😉
Nancy says
Wonderful idea!
Heather says
Mavis,
Have you seen these planters? Greenstalkgarden.com I have 4 of them right now and love them! They are great for planting a lot of things in a small space.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, we’ve seen them. I already have 4 trellises so I don’t need any more vertical type planters.
Honeybee says
Hi Mavis! When I looked at the picture I could “see” the garage entry with a wood platform matching the deck off the house.
AND lots of things growing in the yard. I look forward to seeing what happens.
Janie says
Have you seen the garden towers, green stalks.?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, the HH says no.
Jouce says
Would a bench fit on that platform? An arch or pergola around it with some flowering vines would create a nice seating area.
Mavis Butterfield says
No, unfortunately the area is too small.
Judi Y. says
Would the stone heat up like cement does? I live in Texas so it’s probably different but my back patio is cement and I have to be careful because the sun makes it too hot for my dogs paws in the summer. The cedar would be beautiful and you wouldn’t have to worry about it being too hot for Lucy.
Bonnie in GA says
I can’t wait to see what you do in your garden!
Years ago we had a garden with tomatoes, okra, yellow squash, zucchini, peppers, and sunflowers. This will be the first year in a long time I am planting seeds and hopefully some type of container garden will emerge from this. Lol. The tomato varieties are Dollar Tree seeds: 4 packsfor $1.25. I got Rio grande (they look like Romas), and a pack of seeds that are like different varieties in one packet. That will be interesting. I think they are American seed company. Lol.
Pam says
I have two beefsteak tomatoes under grow lights along with banana and sweet bell peppers. I planted 4 10′ rows of Calibra onions, 3.5 10′ rows of Russet Burbank potatoes this week. I’m in Maine zone 5a.
Mary Ann says
I planted out all of my tomatoes March 31 (So Cal). They’re all doing very well now and some are starting to flower. I have a few less than last year — somewhere between 40 – 50 this year.
Sauce: Amish Paste, Roma, Roma Supremo, and San Marzano.
Slicing: Black Beauty and Cherokee Purple.
Cherry: Sun Gold, Chadwick Cherry, Gardeners Delight, Black Zebra, Chocolate Cherry, Black Strawberry, and Yellow Pear.
Hoping for a terrific harvest so I can put a ton of salsa, marinara, sauce, and juice on the shelves this year.