Spring Garden Goodness

I mentioned in my landscaping project post that I started a new garden this year.

My son and I dug it up with our Mantis tiller.

The soil here in East Tennessee is very hard and rocky.  I know exactly why they call it “Rocky Top”.

We picked up tons of  rocks and planted some spring garden goodness.

Springs can be short and unpredictable here in the Knoxville area.  In addition to normal cool temps, there can be days, even weeks of hot summer like days.  A successful spring garden with cool weather crops is a coin toss.

Ever heard the term, “lettuce plants will bolt”?

That means a few hot days and the lettuce is “out of here.”

Nevertheless, I feel compelled to plant in the spring.  For the price of a few packets of seeds, you can grow lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach any cool weather crop appropriate for the zone you live in.

I like to tend this garden while I start the seeds for my summer garden inside. Since, this garden is not well established yet with lots of compost and other organic material, I did not expect a lot and I did not get a lot.  However, I still wanted to share the  successes as well as how we enjoyed the small harvest. Radishes are fun and easy to grow.  They are great to grow with kids because they come up relatively quickly.  You can tell they are ready when their little red tops peak out of the soil.

Gavin really seemed to enjoy pulling them out of the ground. We sliced up the radishes and enjoyed them in salads and on deli roast beef sandwiches with our fresh lettuce.  Crunchy, Spicy and Yummy!   Snow Peas fresh from the garden are one of the best things ever!

I love to eat them raw!

There is nothing more spring fresh.  Enjoy as a side dish or in salads and stir fry.   Pretty as a picture, wonderful organic gourmet lettuce mix.

Easy to grow from seeds and absolutely beautiful in the garden.

My husband took a huge salad made with our lettuce for a luncheon at work today and it was a big hit.  Sharing is one of the things I enjoy most about gardening.

Spring fresh spinach, so good in so many things.  Omelets, quiche, burgers, tacos.  Great substitute for lettuce.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing what we grew in our spring garden.

This week I am tilling the garden again with my Mantis Tiller and mixing in peat moss and organic Miracle Grow fertilizer (while picking up millions of rocks).   I planted a combination of 30 green, red and yellow bell peppers that I grew from seed.  So stay tuned for what happens next… oh, by the way…

I sighted a snake in my garden,  so now I wear black rubber boots while gardening.  So attractive with shorts and fat pale legs.