It has been a long time since I have posted anything about my gardens.

It has been a long time since I have been excited about my gardens.

This past year has been an interesting one, to say the least, as I’ve been focusing on my 96-year-old mom’s health and helping her live her best life. She is doing well now and I can put some focus back on growing foods and tending to my little piece of land.

But it is just the first week of March and, even though it is around 20c outside (as in “warm-ish”), I know that Mother Nature is not done with winter for us and so … I wait. 

It is hard to be patient when the weather has gone from below freezing to sweater-comfortable weather. 

It is hard not to pull out the packets of seeds and get some baby plants started. 

But wait I must. … and shall. 

I read that with “el Nino” wrapping up that the weather is going to get “moody” (that made me chuckle) and we shall have late frosts and, possibly, a drought-ish spring (that did not make me chuckle). 

So, my plan for 2024 and starting seeds later is a good one! But, still, I get the itch. 

With my focus having been on my mom for the past few years, now that she is settled I have found that I have lost “me” and have struggled to find anything that gets me excited …. 

.. and then one day, after watching a video about the cost of groceries and the benefits of growing your own food, my heart lit up and I went to my local seed source and placed an order. 

Now, let’s be honest: I really don’t need any more seeds. I still have lots of seeds from last year - except carrot seeds. 

Last year, I planted carrot seeds 5 times and none of them turned into carrots. I grew zero carrots. 

This year, not only was I out of carrot seeds but I also wanted fresh ones to give me the best chance to have success. That means: placing a seed order. 

While I was shopping for carrot seeds, as you might guess, lots of other seeds went into the cart. $100 worth of seeds … again. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

This year I will be focusing on the following: 

I want to keep it basic, grow what we eat a lot of, and grow food to preserve for winter soups (we eat a lot of soup - it’s nutritious, it’s easy, and it’s cost-efficient.)

With some things (like sweet corn) it is better for me to buy it from a local farm , and use my garden space for the above produce. 

So … here we are in March, with almost three months of waiting for that last frost to pass.  Patience. I can do it. 
📆