Seattle experienced a fairly mild winter this year and a somewhat early spring. Getting back into gardening mode I decided to start early by putting the seedlings on top of a heat mat and underneath a grow lamp. J was kind enough to build me one in his tool shed so I didn’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars to buy a premade one. This year…wondering if my green thumb had turned mildly brown I planted 16 tomato plants hoping to get a few good ones.

As you can see from the pictures above…my green thumb was actually still intact as all 16 tomato plants grew. Not to mention one night of drunken seed planting resulting in 10 cucumber plants, 6 bok choy plants, and 4 eggplant plants, and 1 random artichoke plant. And because of this and the limited space underneath the grow lamp some turned out a little dwarfier than others. Not wanting to throw my babies in the garbage I have made arrangements with foster parents for a few of the plants. Some were just not as hardy as others and when I tried to harden them outside some of them couldn’t stand up to the test. All in all…I am going to end up planting 6 tomato, 2 eggplant, 2 cucumber, 6 bok choy, and the 1 lonely artichoke which I hope at least yields me one artichoke.

The back garden is in rows again…this time with a mixture. Being the cautious and overly anal person I am I have gone back and forth on the actual plant date for my seeds. Last frost was supposed to be March 24th but I am still wary and am thinking about planting mid April.

Carefully laid out covers, also made by J, have managed to keep out the pests that were digging, picking, and plucking my early season transplants. Above we have green onions, beets, bok choy, and spinach. Not sure if you can see it but the top of the cover is dented…and there is not a doubt in my mind that it was that sneaky raccoon I saw traipsing about several nights ago as if that was his raised garden.

In the front I have blueberries, 4 bushes, and potatoes which are finally starting to grow their leafy green tops. I am excited to see how they turn out as I have never grown them before. And why stop there so I threw in a couple of Strawberry pots for good measure. Lastly we have the ever popular herb garden which I have spread out for ease of movement should I need to adjust their position. Parsley, Cilantro, Thyme, Rosemary, and Oregano…your staple herbs to go with a myriad of dishes.

Everything looks promising…hopefully the garden goes well again. Next step is the lettuce, walla walla sweet onions, peas, carrots, and radish. I am hoping I can plan the planting intervals properly so there are fresh veggies all summer and fall long. Here is crossing my fingers.