Spring in Rebecca’s garden

     As the temperature in Missouri ping pongs back and forth between 30° and 70° it’s hard to know what clothes to put on for the day. Well that’s Spring in Missouri. Meanwhile some of us are thinking about our gardens. Mine is mostly to grow good things to eat but I will plant flowers as well.
     First of all I am a person compelled by forces unknown to garden. I just can’t not garden. My brothers and I were taught how to do this by our Dad. I know that both my parents growing up had big vegetable gardens to feed the big family, and my Mom grew up on a cotton farm. Maybe this is where I got it from, however none of my brothers have vegetable gardens.
     I like to start with cool Spring plants: radishes, spinach, and all kinds of salad greens from a seed mix. This includes purple mustard greens that are so nice to give you energy after a long winter. I will make a nice string trellis for peas to grow on and am starting broccoli and eggplant seeds indoors. I have not grown eggplant before so this should be interesting.
     After Spring is over and the salad is gone, I will have beans, two or three kinds. I found some purple ones last year. Plant several rows two weeks apart so you will have some coming on to pick every other week.
     Last year I grew some of the best tomatoes I’ve ever grown. One was so perfect in shape, color and size that I took several pictures of it!  We had lots of rain last year and that sure helped. I know some tomato plants will come up volunteer, but I will supplement with plants I get at Earth Day. I will also have throughout the Summer: okra, yellow squash, peppers, onions, and cantaloupe.
The most important thing for your garden is to mulch, mulch, mulch. I have two compost bins but they’ve never worked just right. The pile never “heats up” properly, so this year I’m collecting paper plates from our parties and used paper towels from the bathroom to put in layers between the large quantities of lawn clippings. You must have alternate green and brown layers. I will also get “pine straw”  that you’ve seen mulching the flowers on campus. I will ask Manny, who mows my lawn, to turn the pile for me. This means that compost which was on the bottom will be on top to use and the newer stuff on top will be on the bottom to further break down into usable material. I will also get “pine straw”  that you’ve seen mulching the flowers on campus.  Fresh lawn clippings are a good green mulch.
Now for the most fun. I moved my strawberry patch to the other side of my driveway to get it away from the Bermuda grass, one of the most evil plants known to man. It spreads everywhere and is not deterred by barriers of any type. You can’t pull it up, and next to the vegetables you can’t spray it with herbicide. I’m going to get a sharp spade to cut down through the runners at the edge of the garden and pull them out. So right now the strawberry patch is filled with little spring weeds with tiny white and blue flowers. This is an idea from “Lasagna Gardening”. Don’t dig or pull. Cover with layers of wet newspaper! I’ve checked and I have seven healthy strawberry plants growing. They will bloom and produce a few berries this year, but then send out runners. So by next year I will have a nice patch! Happy gardening!