I have a fenced in area that’s sort of rabbit proof. Other years I used to cover it with cardboard in the fall to keep all sort of extraneous weeds from growing up in the fall and following spring.  I didn’t do that last fall because…….I planted squash for the first time last year, and of course, before fall, I had squash bugs.  About one zillion squash bugs. Then I learned that the adults can over-winter under things like cardboard and weed cloth, even rocks. I have weed cloth several other places but the worst of the bugs were in this fenced area, so I figured I wouldn’t put down cardboard at least in there.  I didn’t know if it would make any difference, but I did know I would have to deal with the grass and weeds that would grow up.

Collards get planted in there, and cucumbers, both good rabbit salad.  Plus a few herbs and maybe a couple other things.

I have tomatoes and hot peppers started from seeds and a lot of tomatoes have germinated.  They go in tomato row, a different area from the fenced part. This year, thanks to a trade of seeds with a lady, I have some wild colored tomatoes called lucid gem, boar’s tooth, cosmic eclipse (thanks Jada!) In addition to those: some white ones, the little purple ones and yellow pears my DIL likes so much, and a couple others, including romas, my favorites. Then there will also be some pomodoros from a trade with another lady. I grew them last year and I’ll grow them again. They are determinant: won’t get real tall, stop growing when they reach a certain height and remain more bushy. I don’t usually grow determinants, but these produced well for smaller plants, froze well and have thin skins, and are so good in recipes.

My seedlings go out in the sun in the warm daytime, and back in the house overnight cos our nights are still too cool for germination, and not all of them have sprouted up yet. Once everything pops thru the ground, I can put them all in my little hoop house and let them grow till my safe date to plant things out.

I waited all winter to be able to go out and sit in my earth and dig and get ready for the garden, looking forward to the blessings the good earth will give me for my work.  It took parts of two afternoons to clear the fenced area, and I enjoyed every minute.  None of that stuff had a real good chance to get started but it was still a lot of work. Tomorrow I’ll rake out the leaves.

And I learned some things.

Starlings are dumb birds.  For half an hour, I watched and listened to a starling peck and pound on a piece of spouting like a woodpecker.  Hey, that’s metal, and you are not a woodpecker anyway. 🙂

You need more breaks when you get old(er) and work in the garden.

Tylenol is good stuff.

The nice man selling paving for the driveway will go away if you just nicely tell him you’re not interested.

Grass roots are tough to get rid of.

Clover is the worst roots to get rid of.

You will never get rid of all the creeping Charlie, but you have to keep trying.

Tylenol is good stuff.  Wait, I said that once, but when you’re old(er), it’s worth repeating.

Happy gardening! Get out there and dig in your dirt if you can, or enjoy the spring in whatever ways you do.