What a difference 28 days can make! I say this because it was exactly 28 days ago, May 1st when I shared this blog post about our garden and some of the plans we had to expand and practices we plan to put in place. Normally May 1st here in the Upper Peninsula the temperatures are still dipping below the freezing point and the seedlings are starting to shape up and look like they’re gonna make it. Most years I’m not putting anything in the ground until Memorial Day and that’s only the brassicas like bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. The past few years my husband Don has taken more time and been a tremendous help in the garden by preparing the existing raised beds and adding a bed or two each year. This year, now that we are both at home full time, he spent more time in the garden up until now than I have. It’s getting more challenging for me to keep up with it alone and he’s jumped in both feet and pulled it all together this year in a way like it’s never looked. Thanks to an unusually warmspring I’m about ready to harvest my bok choy on May 28th which is a slam dunk record for us. With the exception of the cucumbers and zucchini, everything is planted – even the peppers and tomatoes!
So I want to share these pictures exactly 28 days later about what progress has been made.
I talked about the new addition to our experiment with growing elderberries in this blog post and it’s so rewarding watching these cuttings, from the time they arrived by mail a few months ago to now how they’ve latched on and starting to grow.
I attribute a lot of the success of our seedlings’ rapid growth and health not only to the warm spring we’re having but I tried a new planting medium this year with great success. We usually use Veggie Doo 301 by a company called Morgan Composting to start our seeds but this year we tried their Seed Starter 101 and we were amazed at how our seedlings shot up like we’ve never seen happen so early in the year. I really like the products this company offers and you can find the products in many garden centers and nurseries throughout Michigan. Most of their products are organic and full of great nutrients.
Don put in 2 giant raised beds this year and I took one of them and decided to start a medicinal herb garden. I have always wanted to grow my own herbs for medicinal purposes and make my own remedies, tinctures, poultices, and create recipes using what I grow.
“Self-sufficiency is the greatest of all wealth”
– Epicurus
I planted the seeds directly in the ground without starting them like I usually do earlier in the spring so we’ll see how they fare. I used Flower Doo 201 so I’m anticipating similar success with my flowers.
For the seeds, I picked up this Medicinal Garden Kit I’ve been reading about and thought I would give it a try. In the kit, there are 10 packets of seeds which include Echinacea, Feverfew, Lavender, Chicory, California Poppy, Marshmallow, Evening Primrose, Chamomile, Yarrow, and Calendula. It also comes with a small book that helps you with taking your plants, once they’re ready to harvest, and creating healthy medicinal products from them. As I was browsing through the 22-page booklet I couldn’t believe the products that can be created from these herbs! I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
It feels really good to have made such progress on the garden this year. Normally, we’re planting into mid June keeping a watchful eye on the progress of our plants but this year with so much accomplished so early it makes room for other projects to be started and completed in our short but beautiful summer season.
Do you have a garden? What are some of your success stories and strategies you implement at the beginning of the season? Please feel free to comment and share in the section below.
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