Begin Again

My garden may never look better than it does today.  No, not the reality of the overgrown tangle of dried weeds and carcasses of collard stems and brussel sprouts that litter the various beds.  It's the garden of my dreams, my vision.  I can't help a think a gardener has to be a bit of a visionary and dreamer.  Someone who can look at a rectangle of dirt and a seed the size of pin's head and imagine the alchemy.  Right now,  my 2016 garden will have all the rows perfectly weeded and mulched; the soil will receive compost on a regular basis, and I'll maintain a steady watering schedule.  That's the vision.  That's the plan.  Now begins its execution.

I have three gardens in the backyard right now, although I will be planting sunflowers out front and maybe something else if I'm so moved.  The gardens line the east and west sides of the house.

This is the front garden that is comprised of  eight beds. 

For most of the twenty years I've had a garden, I've been as true to executing my goals of weeding, mulching, and watering with the same commitment as my New Year's Resolutions (really, I'm going to eat better and exercise more in 2017!).

This is the back garden starting point as of today.

As you can see, I'm not kidding about my bad

weeding habits!

In mid-March I started greens in the garage.  They will be transplanted over the weekend.  The garlic was planted last October.  Onions from Dixondale Farm in Texas will be arriving soon, and they will find their new home in Connecticut soil.

                     The garlic is sprouting and between them I planted rows of greens.  

Tonight I prepared a single bed with a bit of compost.  I planted  Bloomsdale Spinach, French Breakfast Radish (both from Seed Savers)
and a rare seed from Baker Creek called Radish Sakurajima Giant.  The seed packet says that specimens "commonly grows to 15 pounds in it native land."  Fifteen pound radishes?  How can you not give them a try?

If the radishes grow to fifteen pounds, how big will the tomatoes get?  This will be an interesting season.



This is a small bed for radishes, including the 
Sakurajima Giant.