Urban Gardening? Try Nomadic Gardening...

All is not lost, dear readers! Our sunburned tomato sprouts did indeed wither away and die, but we replanted them a few days later and our new batch is up and growing. We've decided that a cold frame or a small greenhouse is going to be a must for next year. Grow lights just can't compete with sunlight. When we compare our stringy sprouts with the ones our Amish neighbors are selling, the difference is night and day.

Last night we planted a whole bunch of peas and spinach. Digging in the real dirt, finally! This brings us to some news that we were waiting to tell, but at this point I don't think we can wait any longer. Remember, way back in January, when we told you we were dreaming big? Well, the Gardener and Gardeness have been on a quest since then to buy some land, and though we're getting closer, we're not there yet. This means that we're now facing the challenge of gardening without a garden. We can't plant in the space we're renting now, because we don't want to leave our veggies behind. The peas were planted in a corner of my father's garden, which he generously donated. Some things, like the hops waiting in the frige and the potatoes which are coming in the mail soon, we're going to try growing in portable containers. But when last frost comes in a few weeks, I honestly don't know what we're going to do with everything. If anyone out there has attempted to be a nomadic gardener and has any suggestions, we'd be glad to hear them!

In light of what we've just said you may well consider us insane when we now tell you we have just ordered chickens! Yes, we decided that we simply couldn't wait any longer. The Gardener told me that all he really wanted for his birthday was an Eglu cube, so a shiny red one is on order and due to arrive by Greyhound freight. Late in May, eight little baby chicks will be arriving - four Rhode Island Red and four Plymouth Rock hens. Oh, the excitement!

A Little Too Much Sun

On this lovely sunny spring day, we decided to try to kill all of our seedlings. We had the best of intentions. Our tomatoes, asparagus, celery, and bee's friend have been looking a bit pale and leggy, so we thought we'd give them a dose of sunshine. We left them out on the back deck while we went to an early Easter gathering, and when we got back four hours later, our poor plants were all dried up, wilted, and frizzled. We've watered them and have our fingers crossed. So I guess we've either killed them or made them stronger.

We also spent this evening planting some more veggies. Today it was cabbage, kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, peppers, and eggplants. We now have, assuming they all survive, 252 little plants growing in little paper pots under the grow lights in our basement. I really hope we aren't biting off more than we can chew!


Also, in an unexpected jog through town we stumbled across a chicken hideout. Yesterday our Basset Hound decided to go for a tour of the neighborhood when the back door blew open. While searching for our little troublemaker, the Gardener found a rooster crowing from inside a shed type coop on the next street over. Luckily, I found Ginny cowering in some bushes at the end of our street but that's the second set of backyard chickens we've spotted in town. In related news our brochure from Omlet arrived on Friday. Keep your eyes peeled for more details on that!