Over these last few days I've been pulling weeds, finding new seedlings that have finally sprouted, admiring my daffodils and new poppy blooms, watering, and just enjoying the warm weather and the feel of the earth in my hands. After weeding an area I'm not yet planting, I've been covering it with newspaper or cardboard to keep it clear of weeds until I'm ready to plant.
Today I planted some borage, radishes and scabiosa in the garden I look at from my kitchen window. In the fenced garden area I got reckless and planted just a few radishes , a couple of spinach seeds, a couple of lettuce seeds, and a few borage seeds in the actual soil -- not a raised bed. Nothing is growing in the raised beds this year for some reason. The brussel sprouts I planted last month have not grown a bit and the leaves seem stunted (See left picture). The lettuce and bok choy transplants don't seem to be doing much growing, either. I gave them some fish emulsion a few days ago, but I don't see any real changes. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon. But I am begining to wonder why even a radish seed won't sprout in the raised beds which have always done so well. Only the chive plant, now on its third year, is thiving (picture on right). And a few onions I found in the fall and spread out are alive, even if they don't seem to be growing much. It will be interesting to see if the seeds will grow in the ground!
