The swiss chard continues to grow and grow throughout. The cilantro took off quickly and even after freezing, continues to stay strong and grow. The bib lettuce took awhile but is now ready to harvest. We enjoyed a salad or two with the black seeded simpson lettuce. And finally, the broccoli has begun to produce some edible florets.
In the past few weekends, when we had some unusually warm winter weather, I repurposed my self-watering gutter system into a hanging bucket system. Last summer I grew more mosquitoes than plants, so I thought it was time to go back to the drawing board and see what I could come up with in using the materials that I already had. The only new stuff I had to purchase was a few lag bolts, couple of bags of concrete, and a small box of screws.
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So the plan is to use the buckets to plant tomatoes and peppers from the bottom of the buckets and water from the top. It will require more frequent watering but at least there won't be standing water for the mosquitoes to produce in. Underneath the buckets, I have 4 grapevines and some oregano growing. The grapevines are really going to test my patience since I have been told that it can take up to four years before you will see any growth or produce.
I also started my seeds for the spring/summer garden in my garage. Planted 3 types of tomatoes, tomatillos, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and two types of cucumbers. The rest I will so directly in the beds in March. Other ideas for plants are watermelons, onions, basil, lemon balm, and mint for now. I always like to experiment with at least one new plant so I am still looking for what that may be.
Once I have some time, I want to put down some decomposed granite between the beds and around the perimeter to keep the weeds down, mud off of Cassie's feet, and my neighbor's cat out of it. I don't want to, but if it comes down to it, I might even build a small fence around it.
Get dirty and keep on gardening!
