Hints of Spring Spur On Gardening Plans

 As I take my morning walk, there is no doubt Spring seems to be trying to end winter prematurely and seducing us to begin our gardening projects. So much to do!  My husband has made the frames for four raised bed vegetable plots in our yard, so we are looking forward to a decent garden this year.  We are opening up more land to cultivation  so we could expand our plant selection and try something new.  At the moment we have strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, and a plant or two of squash and eggplant.  We have quite a few onions planted in the flower beds around the house.  I know that sounds strange but they've been in the ground already for several months through the winter.   I'm hoping they'll be harvest ready before too long.  The next succession of onions can go in the raised beds. 

At the moment everything looks unformed and ill defined.  It looks nothing like my friends' garden in NC with its mounded up furrow of rich soil developed over many seasons of cultivation, but I have to hand it to Joe (husband), who sought out and brought home a beautiful truckload of mushroom compost.  If any media is capable of growing plants, this substance has the look of being up to the task.  We compost everything left from our household that is recommended for composting.  Since there's only the two of us it would take forever to have enough fully composted material to sustain our garden.  We like to keep things as organic as possible and this is a tall order for Florida, with our poor soil and legendary insect population.

It would be nice not to have to fence but not possible.  Too many wandering critters.  I frequently see deer tracks on the beach.  Did I mention we live on a lake?  So a fence, even if it doesn't keep everything out, is a necessary deterrent.  We are still studying the fence issue.  The cranes are nesting now but soon I think they'll be back and I can't believe they'll leave those beds alone.  I don't think they'll fly into as small a space as it will be, once it is fenced.  I could be delusional too, haha!  They have cultivated my yard well in search of tidbits.

I also want to expand my herb space.  We love olive oil with fresh herbs, and grated cheese on a good artisan bread.  We use lots of Rosemary and it is such a carefree plant.  It is also such an attractive dark green.  Oregano is a very easy ground cover.  Basil is perhaps the easiest herb of all to grow, although not a perennial as the oregano and Rosemary are.  I love mint, but is a very invasive plant.  I'll have to think about that one.  It is a start!