Mid-March: What’s Growing in my Garden

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It’s beginning to look like spring out in my yard!

I just love how these flowers are covered with raindrops. This purple iris looks like he’s got his tongue stuck out at me! (Sidebar: I purchased these as plants already in bloom from Fred Meyer this year – post to follow in the next couple weeks.)

I’ve got some signs of life stirring out in my vegetable garden too. These buds just started opening in the last couple days on my raspberry plants:

I have a few perennial herbs that are starting to rouse themselves after a winter’s sleep. This little guy is a sage plant. I adore rubbing the leaves on my hands and then taking in the scent! There is nothing quite like fresh sage. I definitely recommend making room for some in your garden!

Growing next to the sage is my oregano plant. Both the sage and oregano were planted as starts from my pal Susan’s garden. (We swapped her herbs for a couple of my raspberry shoots last year – talk about frugal gardening at its finest!)

And…mint. Yes, it grows like a weed, but I ADORE mint. We eat the leaves raw and I love putting it in special dishes, using it as a dessert garnish, or to freshen up water.

If you are contemplating growing mint: you should know that it puts out runners very quickly! All the mint in this one container started from ONE transplant. For that reason, plant it judiciously. I would put it in a container OR if you put it in the ground, break the bottom off a container and halfway bury it in the ground and grow it that way.

These garlic bulbs are popping up beautifully. I think I planted these two too close together, but I think they look so sweet! (You might want to read my post from last fall on how to plant garlic. It is probably THE easiest thing I’ve grown in my garden.)

I also planted a couple blueberry bushes in containers this year. When I started my garden four years ago, I did put a couple blueberries in with the raspberries, the raspberries quickly choked them out! I’m hoping for a better go of blueberries this way!

Last weekend, I shared with you how I purchased an inexpensive, small walk-in greenhouse. Today I finally got around to starting some seeds in there! Oh – and check it out – looks like we got mid-60° weather happening in there! It definitely felt warm & humid in there today!

I planted today: bok choy, kale (lacinato – and I’ll be planting a White Russian variety here in a bit), English thyme, basil, and a few zinnias.

I also wanted to plant parsley, but I’m all out! Yikes. I need to pick up some more seeds for that.

For the plant markers, I just used toothpicks taped to the back of construction paper. This works perfect for the tiny planters!

It’s still early do much planting outside, but last Saturday I did plant wild lettuce mix, a row of butterhead lettuce, arugula, and a couple rows of peas. The first of the lettuce has already sprouted! In early April, I’ll plant some carrots, beets, and this year I’m trying my first hand at planting storage onion by seed. I am nervous – wish me luck! I have always had great success doing them as sets (in fact, I JUST had to buy onions for the first time last week – we’ve been living off last August’s harvest up until now). I would love to hear if you’ve grown storage onion from seed in the Pacific Northwest. Any tips for me?

The other thing I’m hoping to attempt in the next week is propagating some of my existing herb plants. This basically means that I’m going to try to make new plants from old ones. It can be a great way to save money from having to buy seeds and a skill I’d very much like to acquire as a gardener!

As the days pass, I’m definitely getting more excited about this year’s garden!

What’s growing in your garden right now, if anything? Have you started any plants inside?

If you liked this post, you might also want to read:

• Cheap Greenhouses & Sales
• My $100 Greenhouse
• Puget Sound Plant Sales & Swaps 2013
• My 2013 Garden Plans
• How to Grow your Own for Less