April 13 - True leaves have arrived!

I got out the spray! Okay, okay, okay. I know about organic farming and know I should not use chemicals. BUT, I found a tick on me two days ago. Haven't seen indications of fleas, but they're next. So, I sprayed. I also knock off the grubs and all the other nasty critters that make my life complicated during the growing season.

Here's a picture of the Catnip Garden. Yes, it got sprayed too! Seems all the neighborhood cats enjoy marking their territory here. It can be a haven for fleas and ticks, too.

The large plants are tansy, a beautiful herb that has lush dark green leaves dotted with brilliant yellow flowers all summer. Tansy and catnip grow very tall - sometimes higher than 6 feet - until a good rain comes. Then they flop over each other, creating hiding spots for my feline children and their friends. And they do a fantastic job attracting bees.... and THAT's ANOTHER STORY:(

IN THE BASEMENT --- Oh, watching the true leaves pop up between the tiny cotyledans is so exciting! Why, I bet if I get my nose close enough, I can now smell tomato plants.

My peppers aren't doing as well as the tomatoes. I think perhaps I'll put them in the sun this weekend, keeping an eye on their fragile stalks so they don't pass out from the shock of natural light. They've been couped up in the basement under grow lights for two weeks.

Good Friday is typically the day we're all supposed to get our gardens planted. For me, it all depends upon getting manpower in place - tiller, man to push the tiller, laying out the soaker hoses on the newly tilled soil, placing newspaper on top and then laying down the black plastic or weed control fabric and securing it. A friend of mine who is a master gardener has the tiller on the other side of town. He'll let me use it - and Joel will push it through the chickweed, leaves and compost that I put in the fallow garden this winter.

If I miss Good Friday - well, there's always another day. I hope you have a nice, safe Easter.