May has arrived and spring is here in full swing with tulips blooming, perennials returning, and trees leafing out. We've had lots of rain, which has been much needed, but a bit dreary. However, it looks like we're in for quite a few days of sun, which will wake up everything that hasn't already awakened from winter's sleep.
With all of that, I thought I'd take a few moments to share a few garden notes with you from the month of April...mostly because there are actually notes to share! We had very little snow in the Twin Cities this winter and a warmer than average March, which meant that the ground was actually workable 6 weeks before the average last frost! This meant that I was able to plant my first round of peas in the first week of April, and two weeks later, I planted another round of peas, lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets, broccoli, turnips, and arugula.
This is the first time I have had more than peas planted before May, partly because of weather, but mostly because of a lack of planning! There are actually quite a few things that can be planted before the last frost, but it means taking advantage of those few dry spring days to prep garden beds and get things in the ground. This year I actually had time to do that! (Toddlerhood is so much more conducive to gardening, if you ask me! And only working outside of the home part time...that helps too.)
I'm taking a little different approach to my garden this year, focusing on planting more variety in order to better fill our table throughout the summer, rather than trying to fill the cupboards. I'll leave the task of filling the cupboards up to my farmers' market hauls. A few new-to-me things I'm going to try this year are beets, turnips, acorn squash, Napa cabbage, and heads of lettuce. I'm also giving a few things another try after unsuccessful attempts such as cucumbers, zucchini, and broccoli.
I'm so excited for the garden this year, as I feel a new sense of motivation. Having a new baby last year and being in my first trimester of pregnancy the year before, meant that the garden didn't get as much attention as I'd hoped over the past two summers. But this year shall be different and I'm so excited! I'm excited for the new mouth at my table to feed our garden's bounty to and I'm excited for long days spent outside playing, planting, and cultivating. It's gonna be good. So good.
How about you? Have you planted anything yet?? What garden dreams do you have for the summer?