In the garden:  Fennel, tomatoes are starting to come in, the last of the carrots (look closely,) the first sunflowers, the beginnings of the pumpkin and watermelon plants that I planted awhile back.

In Season:  The last of the Avocados, lilac, oxalis, wisteria

Sadly, life got a little exciting last month, and so I missed my chance to grow a lot of plants from seeds. But fear not, it turns out that Summer Winds accepts kidneys in exchange for merchandise, so we’re all set for planting this week. (I’m kidding. Mostly.)

Despite the frequently higher prices, I like to go to Summer Winds to find organic options, as well as unusual plants. I’ll probably hit up OSH later this week, to see if they might have another variety of sugar snap peas, in addition to the Cascadia I found today.

Once I had invested the kids’ college money in plants, I came home to clear out the garden. In about 3 hours, I managed to get the plot mostly ready for planting:

Of course, it still needs a little work. I’ll work to get it finished tomorrow, and ready for planting (as long as it doesn’t rain too much tonight. Planting in really wet dirt isn’t good for the dirt or the plants.)

I’m very excited, because I’ll be trying a few new varieties this year. For example, I’ve never grown celery, and I’m really curious what it looks like in the ground, and, with the increased interest in kale and other dark greens, I thought I’d throw in a few of them as well.

I finished the first Winter Clean up this afternoon – I filled 3 large yard waste containers in just under 3 hours.  I’m feeling a little guilty for muttering about being too hot when most of the country is suffering record low temperatures, but at least I got a good start on a little color in my cheeks.

I put out a box with avocados today.  I’ll try to continue to fill it as avocados come into season.  Although I’m not particularly fond of them, I know a number of folks in the neighborhood do enjoy them, so please do take a couple if you happen by.

It looks like it’s going to be a warm, dry Spring, so it’s time to get thinking about planting.  This morning I ran across the Old Farmer’s Almanac seed-starting guide, and it’s great.  Unfortunately, it means it’s time to get my tail, and garden, in gear – I need to be ready to plant those delicious peas in just a few weeks.

This year I’m planning to start some plants indoors as well.  Although the weather doesn’t require it around here, the bugs and critters do – especially for tomatoes.  With any luck, I’ll have more than enough plants to bring outside in March.

As I start adding to the garden, I’ll update the web page, too, so you’ll be able to identify all the delicious additions.

Happy planting!