Spring -- the Promise is Real - Gardening on my Mind

 Happy Ash Wednesday to all.  Hope all are well and safe.  

It is raining, it's pouring......no snoring - but it is kind of breezy.  Yesterday got to 6o+ degrees, I got up to 50 this morning, and tonight is to be in the 20's.  It is windy, but we have been removed from the wind advisory in my area.  Predictions say near 70 by next Tuesday!  The weather of March - it sure is unpredictable.  March brings all sorts of weather and the promise of spring.

I did get out to feed during a break in the rain, and just as I was coming in - it hit again!  Soggy for sure.  Spring rains are sure good for the growing season.

I am so ready to see colors outside!  Something besides white, gray and nasty brown and green.  I want color, I want pretty flowers, I want fresh garden veggies, I want warm weather!!

I bet most of you feel the same way.

Gardening does not have to cost an arm and a leg.  There are many things that can be done on the cheap.  MOST garden seeds are not super expensive - considering what you can reap from a plant started from a seed!  It always amazes me what a tiny, tiny seed can do.  Think of all the zucchini you get from a plant, all the tomatoes from one plant, etc.

Displays like this are popping up everywhere right now.  Flowers, veggies - so much to choose from.  Sure if you have a small garden like I do, it may be easier to just buy a few plants.  I grow some things from seed like zucchini and even cukes and lettuce (they start quickly) - but other things I buy plants.  I do NOT spend that much money on the plants.

You can make your own hanging baskets and planters - with a few small plants that will grow into lush and beautiful containers.

You can exchange seeds and plants with others.  Check with family and friends and check the neighborhood groups - you can get and barter all kinds of things.

Seek out pots and planters the same way.

You can plant things in pots if you cannot have a garden where you live (that is crazy to me).  Flowerbeds and big pots, let you extend your growing.

A good representative pic of what you can grow in pots.  I did notice the bottom right pot is mismarked!!  I think it maybe should be lettuce.

You can catch water (if allowed) and use that for your plants.  You can easily make a rain barrel - but if not - use buckets or totes under downspouts or in overflow areas.  It is amazing the gallons of water that flow off roofs.  You can compost and make some of the richest soil ever.  IF you can't - find someone who does.  You can give your scraps to them to help the pile work and maybe they will share compost.

If you grow heirloom plants - keep seed for next year and to trade.  You will always be guaranteed what you will be growing with an heirloom plant.  Other plants that have been crossed in breeding, the seed will provide you product, but with no guarantee of what it will be.  

I do let volunteer plants come up many times - and just move them to a different area.  I figure all veggies are good veggies!!!  And a FREE plant if just fine with me.

You can start many of your seeds now or soon, depending on when your growing season starts.

You can make your own fertilizers.  Banana peels soaked in water - makes a good nutrient rich water to use on plants.  Coffee and tea grounds are good for plants.  Crushed eggshells are calcium rich and good for plants as well.

Make your own concentrate that is equivalent to Miracle Gro.  Just remember the is a concentrate!  It needs to be watered down when using.

You can use old canning jar flats as plant markers, instead of throwing out.  Clean and write on them with permanent markers.  You can also use pull tab lids (like cat food) for markers as well.  Use toilet paper rolls or newspaper to make seed starting pots.  They can both be planted as is and will dissolve into the soil.  You can use newspaper as a weed barrier - or old feed bags or bulk food bags.  Use sticks as 'pins' to hold these items down.

I use scalding canning water on weeds.  Also mix vinegar and salt on weeds (not desirable plants).  Pull out what you can - it is exercise and fresh air - super IF you can physically do it.

I know we all have visions of spring in our heads!  I think most of us are so over winter and cold.

Start checking out seeds, onion starts, and ideas for gardening.  Make connections with other people who may be a help to you.  Check out free groups and neighborhood groups for pots and supplies - even tilling offers might be found.

Now is the time to start the planning!!!!

What ideas do you have to share with others?  We can sure use all the fun ideas we can get - it is all so exciting!

Stay safe and have a wonderful day.