Getting ready for gardening

Well hello!  I have been getting ready for garden season and I had two helpers building my hoops!  My husband and his son were willing to get the work started while he was here visiting us.  I was so excited.

The idea is called a French Chenille system.  I got the idea from Christine and Right to Thrive blog.
It involves making hoops then using either greenhouse glazing or shade cloth and having string criss-crossed across the hoops like a shoe lace.  It easily slides up and down so I can work, yet protects our little gems from the intense sun.

Since the hoop systems are still being built, I started seeds inside.  How fun!  I don't usually do this, I like to keep things simple and just plant in the garden when the time is right, but I found a neat idea I wanted to try.  Taking eggshells, rinse them out, poke a hole in the bottom and fill with starter dirt, then plant your seeds.  When the time is right for them to go into the garden, just gently crush the shell and insert the whole thing!  How cool.

My experiment with the shells is going along nicely. Though I have found the seeds in the little containers are growing more robust than the ones in the shells.  Not sure why, but I suspect it's the soil depth.  There really isn't much depth in the egg shells.  Well, it was a fun experiment.

I am also trying something new this year, gardening by the moon cycle.  So my starts are root vegetables and were started 2 days after the last full moon. (Actually it was an amazing lunar eclipse).  The next day was Sunday and we try very hard to honor the Lord's day, planting seeds didn't fit into that "necessary" category.

Tomorrow the leafy ones are up for the next planting.  I have a few more seeds to get and will probably use what I have until I can order the ones I want.  I am excited to grow a few things rather than the whole list of wants.  Trying to keep it simple.  I have a tendency to want the whole kit and caboodle, but get overwhelmed then stressed because I can't "do it all".  Hence, my drive for simplicity.

I've choose 7 for the cool season the will add 3 more in late May.  I like what I read recently that in gardening you have to have leeway for mistakes and things that just don't work.  I like that it relieves me of the stress to do it all and do it right.  So, plant what I can, enjoy the garden and have fun watching God work.

Yeah garden season is coming and I'm excited!

Hugs to you,
Dee