Staggered Greens

Something I did not try last year that I will definitely do this year is stagger the planting of the greens. The Square Foot Gardening book describes a process where planting is done in intervals so the result is being able to harvest a usable amount of greens.

I don't want to plant 12 lettuce plants and 8 spinach plants all at once. I would never be able to use that amount of food at the time of harvest. But, if I plant a couple greens this week and then a couple more next week and then a couple more the next week, I get a constant harvest and will be able to have fresh greens regularly from my garden throughout the summer.

I got a little ambitious with the first planting, but with an early harvest and a late harvest, these greens will be able to be harvest and eaten over 3 weeks.


The next lettuce/spinach/collards will be planted in front of the existing plants and will be done soon.

Herbal leftovers

They lasted throughout the winter without a problem. The chives, oregano, tarragon, and thyme were all covered with straw and I guess it was enough to keep them alive and healthy.


The tarragon was originally grown in deck pots, but since the peppermint, pineapple mint and Moroccan mint all died, I transplanted the tarragon into the herb box where the mint use to be. Wait...I take that back. Not all the mint died. Notice what is growing out of a crack in the side of the herb box:

In the backyard, cilantro and parsley was planted next to the trimmed rosemary bush.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year."

I know that lyric is from a Christmas carol, but right now it's all about the dirt. It's time to garden. This morning I built a 1'x4' box that will sit on top of my 2'x5' box in the backyard. I wanted to add a second tier to the existing box to grow strawberries.

The landlord cut back the tall evergreen tree which resulted in more light for that box. I'm not replanting the squash/zucchini in that area this year as it was taken over by legions of mold armies.

Strawberries it is...and the strawberries that have been growing in the front yard flower bed have been transplanted to the box and several brand new strawberry plants have been added.