SPRING, ME and GARDENING ADVENTURES

Just to introduce my team of farmers here- Selena (in charge of cherry tomatoes) The puppy is in charge of watering.

Allen will take care of the okra and swiss chard ( I hope). Sheba will probably accidently knock everything down with that tail of hers.

And.....this is part of my new crop- guess what is growing here. I will give a hint- think BLUE!

Every now and then I get this intense desire to grow things and the weather here has been great. Well, Houston soil is quite nutrient free so anyone that is serious about growing makes "Raised Beds" and brings in some soil from somewhere else! Our area just used to be a marsh.

So, just using what I could find, today I made a raised bed with my big white poodle watching in amazement. Poodles can sit there for the longest time and just look like they are thinking-looking smart. Actually I had quite an audience as the 10 kids that live right behind us, have a fort that gives them a good view of me and my future garden. They're cute kids.

Anyway, over the years, my failed attempts at being a good citizen and making compost piles, have resulted in a series of mounds in our back yard. They are kinds cute as each spring these mounds explode in veggie surprises and I just sit back and watch the show.

So this year, I had a burst of organization energy hit me again. I am not the most organized and I love just being creative and using whatever I find at hand. To make my beds, I salvaged the bench seats from our picnic table that cushioned the fall of the oak that fell during hurricane Ike. They escaped the crush and became the sides of my new "raised"garden bed. The ends are just made of brick odds and ends. Then with my trusty shovel, I dug up various remnants of previous compost piles, discovering also lost combs, kids toys, clothes pins, bits and pieces of "whatever"- quite possibly a few things from early Houston pioneer days also. Tossing the shovels full of dirt into my bed, I saluted the veggies and fruits from years past, blending them together in my new raised bed. I am thinking they will make a wonderful growing medium.

Allen and Selena ( the kids) are busy planning what they'd like to plant . We will go buy some seeds tomorrow but what I haven't told them is- no matter what they plant, we will see a profusion of awakening little sprouts of all sorts, all seeking their opportunity to "be". They may have some idea as I brought in my first harvest of the year today- compost-grown red potatoes!

I think I am a bit nervous as I know the whole theory of "thinning" is great and necessary, but I figure, if the seed has got the gumption to get out there and grow, who am I to pull it up! We will have a garden of "strange truths!" and if goes well, maybe a few tomatillos and their friends,

Some farmer I have turned out to be!