In the Garden

One of my goals is to make better use of the garden this year.  I decided we could pop into the garden once a week to keep me focused and accountable.

I am having almost no luck with the pepper seeds I planted.  Only the fish pepper seeds have sprouted.  The funny thing is that these are the oldest seeds.  I planted fish peppers several years ago and then lost the seeds I saved.  I found them when we moved and surprisingly they are growing well.

We took advantage of a warm day to clean up the garden area.  W moved the compost pile into the garden so it will be more convenient.  He tore apart some raised beds that were rotting or not working out well.  The garden looks very, very sad right now.

Over the weekend we had some cold weather (for the South) with a low one night of 22 degrees.  That explains the dead eggplant in the picture above.  Garden peas grow well even in the cold temperatures.  This variety is called Tom Thumb and is a compact plant.  I planted radish and kale seeds between the rows of garden peas.  Those are not sprouting yet though.

I did some experimenting this year by planting lemongrass and pineapple plants into the dirt rather than just in pots.  I covered the lemongrass with some plastic.  It came through the cold okay.

I did nothing to the pineapple plants.  They are planted under the shelter of large oak trees which provided some protection. Still I am quite please that they had no damage.

I will continue to plant these around the edge of the fence - maybe on both sides.  Once spring arrives I will plant some flowers between and around them to make better use of the space.