April 19th: Update

The peas are planted - this year they will be running along the side fence, where the watermelon seeds were planted last year (major FAIL, I think they rotted away before they had the chance to sprout). I changed locations because I noticed that the shed they were planted next to this past summer is starting to flake paint. Who knows if the paint has lead in it, so we aren't going to take the chance. We'll plant sunflowers there instead and leave the seeds for the birds.

I planted the peas on Sunday (April 17, for the record). Half of the seeds were "saved" from the summer's harvest (1 sugar snap variety and one snow pea variety). The other half were from a seed packet. So.. we'll see if my methods of seed saving for peas was a success. That is, gather the overlooked, overripe pods, dry them, harvest the seeds. Store in a little glass bowl in the seed cabinet.

The green onions continue to revive themselves, so we already have a nice crop of green onions/scallions. I checked on the blueberry bushes and they seem to have survived unscathed. The strawberry plants survived the weekend snow. Whew, whew, and whew. Our chives have already sprouted back up from the dead as well. Those are the best kinds of garden plants!

The tomato and pepper seedlings are happy, as are the spinach and arugula. I plan to transplant the spinach & arugula as soon as possible so they have enough space - they are growing quicker than expected. Herbs are sprouting up too, but I did a bad job of labeling them so currently, I don't know what's what.

My approach to gardening continues to be very off-the-cuff, fly by the seat of my pants (this is totally how I cook too, although I try to write down a "recipe" when the food is Yum! like the restaurant). So far it's working just fine - a backyard full of sunlight and healthy soil are working in my favor - but I know I need to eventually make note of what I'm doing and what's working best or what's majorly failing. And not rely on my memory. Hmm.. I wonder if I could hire an assistant or a secretary of sorts to stay on top of it for me. Daydreams.