The Prophet Says to Plant a Garden

It is April. Recently while reading one of my favorite blogs, PW showed the beautiful sprouts and plants she has growing in her garden. Growing. In APRIL. You see, apparently there are places in North America that are not a barren wasteland of snow and ice and can actually grow things in months other than July and August. Can you believe it?

Here in Alberta, in the heart of snow and ice land, we are only dreaming of our gardens. Of the miraculous thaw that will happen and make us forget all about the last 6 months of winter. (Seriously, 6 months? We need to move)

This year I am goingt o reorganize. In my genius a few years ago, I planted a lilac in my garden plot. If anyone can tell me what I was thinking, i would love to know. Hence, this year we will be moving the lilac. We also have the saddest Saskatoon bush you have ever seen in our yard. I will be moving this as well and hopefully planting an apple tree or two. Fruit trees make me happy, especially when they flower in the spring!

I also am rethinking the veggies I plant this year. What do you plant? I have planted potatoes in the past and they always taste, well ..... weird. They are hard and strange and get mushy when they are cooked. I don't like them. So I am nixing the potatoes. I am also nixing the green beans. They took over my small plot last year and I am not into climbing through bean vines to get to my carrots. Plus they tried to strangle all the other veggie plants. Not cool, beans. You are out.

So here is a run down of what I am going to plant:

zucchini - can't go wrong, grows well and is hardy and produces all summer long.

summer squash - basically yellow zucchinis. See above.

beets - delic! Can't beat a garden beet!

carrots - this is one of the examples where a garden fresh variety tastes SO different from the kind in the bag at the store. Plus easy to grow and you can get tonnes!

onions - this was a new one for me last year and it seriously was so good. I got so many onions and once I harvested them they lasted until almost Christmas in my fridge and never went mouldy. Bonus!

sugar snap peas - tricky but so worth it and great for snacking on whilst working in the garden.

butter crunch lettuce - the best kind we have planted and this year we WILL be doing a staggered plant. I say this every year and every year we forget and plant it all at once. Lettuce overload.

Strawberries and Raspberries - we have a row along our back fence that we planted with berries and every year I hope they will do better and every year I am sadly disappointed. This year I will plant more and tend to them better.

Cilantro, Rosemary, Basil, Chives and Oregano - in a pot on my deck. Easy access and I can water them more often.

I am so excited for gardening season and for watching the plants take root and come to life. I am even more excited to eat the stuff. There is something so satisfying about a meal made with the fruits of your labor .... literally! If you haven't planted a garden before I highly recommend it.

Now for "spring" to get here so we can get started!!!