This week in the garden…
This week in the garden! Seed starting, garden cleanup, and signs of Spring!
Spring is coming!! Can you smell it?? Last week was a bit of a whirlwind. I was out of town for photoshoots, and couldn't wait to get back to my happy space - my garden! Before I left I was able to start 2 seed trays, and I crossed my fingers they didn’t dry out while I was gone. Lucky me, I came back to tons of healthy, happy sprouts! On Friday I planted 4 more smaller trays filled with mostly cut flowers and herbs. Cut flowers are new to me this year, and I’m so excited (and nervous) to see them grow!
These are my favorite seeds trays! Filled with Organic Seed Starting Mix from Gardeners.com.
Squash sprouts are always the most satisfying! They pop up first, and they’re always the biggest! They needed some quick thinning and will eventually need to be moved into larger pots until the threat of frost has passed and they can be transplanted into their cozy raised garden beds. Peppers and Eggplant are always a little slower, but I woke up this morning to little tiny green leaves emerging from the soil. So exciting!
Outside, the garden needs some serious clean up (I will not show you my mess.. hah!!) but 3 of the raised beds are starting to explode with lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale seedlings! The snap peas are starting to grab onto the trellis, and the roses are getting leafy! We even had our first rose bloom of the season! It was such a lovely reminder that these beds will be overflowing with harvests and blooms (see what I did there) so soon.
Such a gorgeous yellow/apricot bloom! This was my first climbing rose. I have 2 of them framing the entry to my Kitchen Garden, trailing up an iron arch. This is their second year and they are already halfway up the sides of the arch. I’m hoping by year 3 they’ll be fully covering the arch, and offer a stunning entry into my garden oasis! Goals!
This week I’ll be building some new Cedar Raised Beds for a client, and a couple more for my cut flower garden! We’ll be tidying up the yard, pulling weeds, removing leaves, and composting to get ready for March. Almost halfway through February! The last frost date for Bluffton, SC is March 9th. I am planning on transplanting my seedlings into the raised beds on the 15th of March, so pray for no more frost!!
Have a great week ahead everyone!
Kale that I planted a little over a month ago.
I cut some outer leaves to add to our breakfast hash this weekend! As fresh as it gets!
Fall Seed Starting Workshop
Lowcountry Fall Seed Starting Workshop
This past week we kicked off our fall gardens with a Seed Starting Workshop (Harvest & Bloom’s first one EVER!!). The class was such a hit, and I am so grateful for my supportive friends! We had a blast going over our southern gardening schedule, the plants that work best for our “warm season” gardens, how to plant in seed trays, and how to plant each different seed. Of course there was a charcuterie and wine to make the night even more fun!
Before becoming a garden coach, I had always been taught that you plant your garden around Mother’s Day (up in the northeast), and as the temps start to drop in the fall, that’s it for the year! Then you wait for Spring to replant. Boy, was I so wrong! Not only can you garden all year (no matter where you are!) but living in our southern area of Bluffton, SC means an even longer “warm” growing season, and more opportunities to grow a wide variety of vegetables and herbs as we wait for cooler temps! Fall in the Lowcountry is actually Spring Round 2! Think it’s too late to grow your tomatoes and cucumbers? Think again! Now is the time to get planting on things you may have missed in the spring, or maybe something that has reached maturity and is ready for a fresh start.
At our workshop last week, we planted everything from Hot Peppers, Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Butternut Squash, and herbs, to even starting our Broccoli and Cauliflower so it’s ready to move outside in a couple months when the temperature drops a bit. We used an organic soil mixture for a healthy start, and let’s just say, these seedlings are so happy! Within 3 days we had tons of sprouts and the group all shared their photos, so proud of their new plant babies. It was such a fun night, so we’re already planning our next workshop! Fall Herb Planters, here we come!!
