Garden Planning & Spontaneous Planting

I have been walking a fine line between planning and spontaneity in the garden this year. I planned my tomato planting carefully- getting the seeds in under lights Valentine's Day weekend, and then quickly and haphazardly re-potted in the middle of our move.

We had to relinquish our community garden plot a few days before we moved into our new house-- which meant digging up our beloved strawberry plants (and a few other stragglers that made it through the winter- kale and cabbage) and then leaving them in a bucket in the rain all week. So they had to get in the ground this weekend if they were going to make it. Problem was we were cleaning our old house and finishing the move on the same weekend, which meant no time for a well planned out strawberry plot or perfectly amended soil.

So I found a spot that looked like it would get some sun, quickly dug it up and aerated a bit and plopped all the strawberry plants in. The cabbage and kale received an equally quick planting, and the garden is officially started.

I planting Anaheim pepper and eggplant seeds March 7, and they are under the lights now- still no signs of germination, but it's been pretty cold in the house.

The chickens continue to provide more than a healthy dose of humor to our lives, and occasionally a little scare. Like yesterday when Mark came home and found only 3 chicks in the brooding box... the fourth chick, Goldilocks, was huddled in between the brooder and the wall. Stuck. She'd flown out apparently-- time for some mesh across the top I guess. I'm still convincing that Hyper, the Plymouth Barred Rock, is a rooster but only time will tell.

The compost bin has been installed, with a wire platform on the bottom (rodent protection) and we're up and running on that front (which is good since we'd been piling compost up all week in various containers and it was only a matter of time before that got gross.)

Next on the agenda: building 2 raised beds (3 if I convince Mark to put one in the front yard too); the chicken coop; and cutting a new door in the back of the garage for easy access to all my garden tools.

Our new house!

The Urban Homestead in Progress is officially "in progress", as of this weekend we are very excited to call this little bungalow home. This week we've been busy refinishing the Doug Fir floors. In between coats of polyurethane I've been busy re-potting tomato starts, fussing over the chicks to get them used to us (and Stella Dog), and making a plan for the yard.

We'll move in Saturday, and then the projects on the short list include: fixing the bathroom door, building a chicken coop, and putting in two or three additional raised beds.