Three weeks ago, spring settled into the Arizona desert with 75 degrees warming the air and a big blue sky. Weather like that leaves no other choice but to till and plant this year’s batch of vegetable seeds.
Sometimes gardening is all about experimentation. Last year, I planted every seed in a seed starter grid in order to give each plant a good start. The harvest was good, but not as plentiful as the year before. So, this year, we decided to start the seeds directly in the garden box.
While I’m all for trying new things, I was a little nervous to plant seeds in soil that is a bit “tired.” Our dirt has gone through quite a workout with three consecutive years of gardening. We’ve been relatively good about returning nutrients via compost and rotating crops, but Arizona dirt can be challenging due to it’s high clay content.
For two weeks, I went outside hoping to see little bits of green, but only found brown. I was starting to think our experiment was a supreme failure, until I went out a few days ago and found tiny little babies poking through the ground.
Peas …
The garden rabbit is already hoping for a snack!
I’m not sure if this is a sunflower or a cucumber, but the garden rabbit thinks it needs a little help…
Help! I’m stuck!
Cowpeas …
This little guy sprouted just the other day!
The tomato plants are starting to sprout new leaves …
Back from the dead!
A new raspberry plant is taking off …
When do we get berries??
The blueberry bushes we planted last year sprouted all new leaves and flowers. At he end of last summer they shed all their leaves and looked like dead sticks. Good thing we never got around to dumping what we thought was was a dead plant. This spring they came back to life and are just beautiful!
Beautiful blueberry buds.
The garden rabbit will be sniffing around all spring, so stay tuned for his adventures in the garden.
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What’s your favorite thing?
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c.b.w. 2014
C.B. Wentworth 
What a fantastic start! Hope you have a great harvest this year! I just finally finished clearing out my garden boxes since it’s definitely time to start planting down here too.
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We’re getting a heck of a rainstorm here today, so I’m hoping my “babies” are drinking up! 🙂
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Hello Garden Rabbit. I do believe you need a name. All those plants look so fresh and new, take care of them.
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They are enjoying the rain today! 🙂
(The garden rabbit is hiding under the plant rack!)
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Your rabbit seems to be bring good luck to your vegetables. Because of the warming periods we have been having in our “winter” in Southern California, my broccoli is completely confused. The radishes came early. The trees are blossoming. Now, we have rain, thank the heavens above, and it is going to be chillier for the next few weeks. I have no idea how the tomatoes and blueberries and peas are going to react. The kale, at least, is indestructible.
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Our plum tree finally started sprouting new leaves, but our broccoli is still hiding. 😉
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I hear from my friend back home that more snow is expected tomorrow. I think my garden rabbits will be waiting a good bit longer to see their next salad. Favorite thing today was the medieval exhibits in the V & A. I was robbed of so much history by being taught that the medieval period was “the dark ages.” So much beauty was created in those “dark” years.
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Ooooo, the V&A museum is fantastic! 🙂 If you get a chance, the Natural History museum is worth a visit, too. As is the London Museum – there are so many amazing treasures hiding inside that building. Plus, there are Roman ruins nearby.
You’re right, the so-called Dark Ages were anything but dark. So many discoveries and artistic moments made the era an incredibly bright and beautiful part of human history.
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It’s wonderful to see … especially since we have a new snowstorm coming on Monday.
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Yuck! Hope the sun comes out and melts that snow, soon. You guys have had enough!
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