Happy March! After many days of rain and flood, I am hoping the cold and stormy weather will subside so I can soon start gardening again. I tried planting seeds in February and not many plants took hold. I had success with the peas and some radishes as well as fava beans. These three plants always grow well for me, no matter the circumstance. I am hoping and praying for a successful harvest this year.
This year I am planning to plant more and experiment with other kinds of veggies and herbs. Plants like lettuce, eggplants, zucchini, ect. There are so many cool things to plant but such little garden space. Living in an urban environment comes with its limitations. Things like space, micro climates, pollution and pests, the list keeps on going. I feel the city people have lost their touch to know and learn about nature, since everything is so convenient and they can find things at the store. Of course, the privileged have better access to fresher vegetables, or even vegetables at all. Those without easy access have difficulties bringing fresh food to their tables. Let's also bring up the fact that in the United States, according to the FDA, we waste about $161 billion and 133 billion pounds worth of food a year. That’s a lot, yet people are still going hungry in this country, and we can still throw away food like pennies to the ground. Nothing gets me more worked up than knowing people are hungry out there. Getting back on topic, I think learning about food and where it comes from is very important. As well as sharing with others when you have an overabundance of food, or trading with neighbors and friends your goods and services. I won't make this blog about food waste, but if you are interested you can find more information on the FDA website titled Food Lost and Food Waste.
This year I’m doing things a little differently in the garden, normally when container planting, I choose to plant one type of plant per pot, but this year I decided to mix the plants together to see where they will grow best. Sometimes plants want to grow where they wanna grow. I’m also just running out of space to put my fabric pots, so by adding other seeds into those containers I’m probably going to get more vegetables. I haven’t been able to harvest much for 2023, partly it’s my fault for not keeping up with the plants, but also the sun was too hot for the type of plants I was growing so they just shriveled up and I had to water them multiple times. This summer I'm hoping to install a drip irrigation system that's connected to a bucket of water so I don't have to worry about missing the right times to water the plants. As well as increasing shade in my garden so they won't be scorched by the sun.
I also purchased multiple new seeds to try out and plant. New plants I’ve never grown before, one of my goals is to make a little section of different mint types. While researching plants for medicinal uses, I came across different kinds of plants in the mint family and their benefits. Which led me to want to try to grow different kinds of mint. Currently I only have spearmint that I planted directly in the ground. I know it’s a bad idea to plant mint but apparently mint keeps away rats. I also try to trim it every couple weeks and keep it small. I like sharing mint with neighbors, friends and family. I also have Coyote Mint which is native to my area. Someone in my online gardening community shared with me a pot of Coyote mint for free. It was in rough shape but I was able to let it do its things and it’s starting to produce leaves again. There’s so much you can do with mint. In the future I may post about my time growing mint and using it in the kitchen. I’m more successful with plants when I start them inside. A couple plants I've been trying to sprout in February are basil, chamomile, more peas, potatoes, chinese forget me nots, radish, lettuce and marigolds. I haven't decided where to put them yet but hopefully I'll have the space ready when they start sprouting.
Plants just make me so happy, I wish I had more space to plant more things! Enjoy some garden pictures below.
Thank you for reading this month's blog! Do you have a garden you are starting this year? I'd love to know about it, my inbox is always open and so are my messages on social media. You can always tag me on Instagram or use the hashtag #Muffinxmilk to be shared on my profile or story.
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