Another Year in the Garden

What a slow start to summer we've had.  Yesterday it was rainy and chilly, I don't think it got above 60 degrees!  Last year I made the mistake of spending too much money too soon on my starter plants and lost my entire first "crop" to a frigid hail/wind storm in Mid-May.  It's made me rather timid about planting this year.  We were also rather neglectful of our garden last year, letting it tumble out of control and sprawl out of it's beds pell mell.  Not that I'm opposed to a garden Au Naturale.  No, I prefer to let my garden plans unfold rather, no pun intended, organically.  Planting where I find space and as I acquire plants and soil.  I feel like the plants prefer it that way.

This year's slow start has brought about some interesting discoveries.  As we dug up our "compost" heap (really just a pile of last year's dead clippings) I discovered that all the little dropped tomatoes, tomatilloes, marigolds, lettuces and several of my herbs had gone to seed and started their own wild garden near the back fence.  

Little "Bundle" of Tomato Seedlings

         Fallen Tomatillos Sheltered by a Stand of Johnny-Jump-Ups

I left these wee starts untouched, covered and protected by the dead-fall for much of the spring since it was either to wet or to cold most days to go out and tend to the garden area.  

We did push forward and put in three beds amending the soil in just two of them. 

Three Beds, Rom's Bed Front/Amended Beds Rear

 I started a tomato and jalapeño under some protective greenhouses.  These are thriving now that the weather is warmer and I'm glad I preformed this experiment this year, I will feel more comfortable doing it more extensively next year.  I transplanted all my herbs and some lettuce into the amended beds and I began to transplant some of the small seedlings that had taken root under the compost heap, tentatively at first, pulling up the whole "clump" of seedlings still attatched to their parent tomato or tomatillo.  I placed them under some jugs or pop bottles, cut to serve as greenhouses against the cold and began the process of thinning them as they got bigger.  

Found Tomato Seedling Now 6 Inches Plus

Tomatilloes from the Heap

I have been handsomely rewarded for my observations and patience.  I know have two very healthy tomatillo plants that are reaching over a foot high and beginning to bear fruit.  My little tomato plants, so tiny when I moved them from under the dead brush that I was not even sure I was picking up tomatoes except for the withered skins still attached to them, are now nearing six inches high and have true leaves, and thick healthy stalks and have withstood their first mighty windstorm. Marigolds transplanted from the same heap are  blooming bright orange and gold and tiny lettuce bundles that I feared would never survive given their withered state those first few days are now ready to pick and bring in for a crisp, fresh garden salad!

Lettuce Transplant

Elsewhere in the garden, Romilly's peas have taken over their trellis and we all share a hearty bowlful with dinner each night along side some sliced radishes, which are thriving in the mild weather (I am more than pleased with my decision to plant crops spaced out three days apart this year).  The strawberries are bearing their first sweet, red fruit and the potatoes have already blossomed promising a hearty crop this year.  

From Top Left: Romilly's Peas, Potatoes and a Nasturtium, Strawberries Ripen in the Sun

In years past I have plotted, planned and micromanaged my garden in an attempt to yield the most produce in the least amount of space and I always end up giving into my wilder instincts and letting nature take over.  This year, I plan to let nature reign from the beginning.  I have a feeling it's going to be a bountiful summer.

Bundles of Joy from our Garden