Later; and Gardens

There will be a new Friday Confession before I go to bed this evening, I promise!! I haven't figured out yet what it is ... but it will be here soon, I have faith. Oh, and before I forget, Happy (belated) Valentine's Day to everyone!!

But ... today is going to be pretty crazy for moi. I've got about 98 things on my to-do list today, and of course, I accidentally slept in this morning. I didn't get up until 7:45, and I feel like I'll be playing catch-up all morning. Ah, such is life, though, and I've decided I'll still have a positive attitude. :) I've got to get John's work clothes dried and pressed before we take him to work later this morning, and I need to do my big grocery trip. We really only go to the grovery store once every two weeks, usually with a mini-trip on the opposite week for milk and veggies and things that go bad quickly. But I'll get 90% of my groceries for the rest of the month bought this afternoon. And yes, I go with all three of the kids, and yes, I actually tent to have a wonderful time with all of them! I get confused when I have to go to the store by myself, because then I have to do things like push the cart, and pick up items off the bottom shelves for myself. I don't like to do that. :)

And right now (like, as soon as I get my lazy butt off the computer), I've got to get my garden started! I've been procrastinating like you wouldn't believe, because they keep telling us it's going to rain, so I wait to plant, but it never rains ... so I'm just going to start planting. Well, my bigger seeds, at least, like all the chard, both spinaches, and my peas. I put the potatoes in last week. And all the lettuce will go in Monday, because I don't feel like everything getting washed away like last year.

I'm starting my tomatoes indoors tomorrow (anyone have a grow light they'd like to let me borrow??), and I'll be able to put in pretty much everything except my okra in a month. Our average last frost date around here is about March 15, and even if we have a frost after that, all the plants are so small that they're very easy to cover for a night or two. This year, I'm planting everything from seed, something new for me, and I'm so excited! I've got chard, two kinds of spinach, 5 or so different lettuces, Lincoln peas, 3 kinds of pole beans (I would say green beans, but I had a little too much fun ordering new stuff, and I don't think any of them are green ... oops!), bush beans, 9 kinds of tomatoes, spineless okra, painted mountain corn, pumpkins, peppers, and about 12 or 15 kinds of herbs. Check out this website for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds if you haven't before, and get a catalog. They sell only heirloom, organic, non-GMO seeds, and their prices are still better than just about any other place I've found. And shipping is only $3, no matter how much you order. Seriously!! And they're so nice on the phone! I love them!!

If you haven't planned a garden yet for this spring, it's not too late! Well, it's too late for potatoes, and if you can't get your lettuce in within the next week, I'd probably skip that, too. (Oops, you people up North are probably thinking I've lost it. I'm talking to people here in Central or South Texas!) Home Depot has started carrying plants, but except for spinach (which is so easy to grow, everyone should do it!!) nothing really needs to be put in for another month. So, if you're seed-inclined, order seeds and you should have them in 10 days, or just start getting your ground ready for planting. If you need to build up your soil, call or email me {brea_stewart(at)hotmail(dot)com} and I can probably help you out with that.

Don't fear the garden, people!! God gave us the most wonderful things to eat, and most of them can be grown right in your back (front?) yard! Embrace the dirt!