Better late then never

 After two stellar years of vegetable gardening, I’ve gotten off to a late start this year. Between work and family I barely thought about planting anything until last week. I got my husband to pick up seed potatoes while he was at the hardware store a couple of weeks ago, so at least they would be here if I found time. It’s a couple weeks later than I normally plant (and a few weeks later than I always mean to plant), but they should do okay. I cut up the potatoes around a week ago and planted some in the grow bag a few days ago. The rest went in the ground today with a little compost from my compost bin and some fertilizer.

I also planted some ‘Dwarf Grey Sugar Pea Pod’ peas and a row of 'Carnival Blend' carrots. It’s waay later than when I planted peas last year (mid-February), but they were one of my favorite things in my garden last year. I decided it was worth the risk. I think we’re at the tail end of when they can be planted here in Middle Georgia. The carrots, too, are pretty much at the end of when they can be planted in spring. I didn't have much luck with carrots when I tried growing them in the fall years ago, but my mother-in-law had some success last year, which gives me confidence to try again. The 'Carnival Blend' seeds were actually a serendipitous birthday gift from my godmother last summer, so I was eager to plant them. I was so afraid the tiny seeds would wash away, I watered them carefully with a tiny spray bottle instead of drowning them with the hose. According to my blog, my mistake last time was not watering them one week, so I think I'll work on hooking them up with some drip irrigation in a couple of weeks.

I have a new garden companion this year! His name is Buddy. We adopted him in August, so this is our first spring together. He’s still learning how to be a garden dog. I’m hoping he’ll make our yard less inviting to voles. He loves to “hunt,” but he’s not very good at it.