Spring Planting #1: Seeds

C: The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, and the leaves on the trees are budding. It’s spring, and we’re planting in our gardens!

S: We have three raised vegetable garden beds and a flower garden. The flower garden runs against the side of our townhome, turns a sharp corner and continues along the fence.

C: The garden had a rough start. A few years ago, Mom and Dad covered the part of the green space that’s on the side of our house in layers of newspapers, anchored by rocks for half a year. That’s how they killed the grass to make room for the garden.

S: If you can picture how unsightly it would have been, you have a good idea how gracious our neighbours are.

C: It was really, really ugly.

S: Was. Past tense. Let’s live in the present. Now, we have a lovely, drought resistant garden based on this Better Homes and Gardens plan!

C: Our vegetable garden beds sit on our little back deck. Two are 3ft x 5ft, and one is 2ft x 6ft. Each have been divided into one-foot squares, since we are following the square foot gardening method. This method maximizes what you can harvest in a small amount of space. Right now, we have peas and some transplanted kale in our squares.

S: During our spring visit to the garden store, we bought a few seed packets to add to our stash. Had we known about it at the time, we would have gone to the Vancouver Public Library to check out their free seed library. Those of you in the Lower Mainland, next time you are picking up holds or returning your books, take a look! 

C: Libraries with books AND seeds!? Yes!!!

S: This year, we are paring down what we plant to vegetables that 1) grow a worthy amount of food for the amount of space they require, and 2) will actually be eaten. No beets, leeks, or celery.

C: Beets taste like slightly sweet dirt.

C & S: So, what are we growing? Glad you asked!

1. KALE: Most people who say they hate kale salad or other kale dishes probably didn’t try prepping it beforehand. If you massage the leaves with sea salt and olive oil before you put it in the salad, it will taste way better and be more tender. Our kale plants from last spring survived Vancouver’s crazy amount of snow this past winter and are still doing fine. Kale is one of the best and easiest vegetables to grow. 
2. SUGAR PEAS: Although they are easy to tend, we’ve never grown them. They are a sweet, snappy vegetable that’s fun to harvest. Caseigh’s little brother will happily them off the vines. 
3. TOMATOES: We’re trying them again. Last year, we copied a neighbour who was growing them in 5-gallon buckets with drain holes drilled on the sides, a few inches from the bottom. We grew some tomatoes, but it was generally disappointing. This year, we are growing them in bigger containers with a different soil mix. And we’ll throw some hope and prayers in with the seeds.  
4. CARROTS: Carrots always seem to work okay in our garden, thankfully. It’s fun to pull out a bright, orange carrot from deep in the dirt. And the green tops taste great in our salads and soups. 
5. LETTUCE: We eat a lot of salads, and lettuce seem to grow easily in our garden. This year, along with butterhead, we are trying romaine. 
6. CUCUMBERS: Last year, our cucumbers did really well, so we are growing them again. Our family loves pickles, so we sacrificed some fresh cukes to glass jars and pickle juice, and they turned out great. We’ll also try to grow some dill this year for pickles.  

THANK YOU for joining us for the first of our three part series on Spring Planting! Part #2 is coming soon, and in it, we’ll tell you the story of our soil. Subscribe today, so you don’t miss it.

TELL US what you are planting and your gardening tips in the comment section, below!

Signing off with dirt under our nails and joy in our hearts,

Caseigh and Sandra