Dirt Girl

We got the vegetable garden half in on Sunday-right on schedule in my world! I seeded my root vegetables, transplanted a few perennials, weeded and de-grassed parts of the garden, and then watered it all and called it quits. I was proud of the work we accomplished. Our little darling even helped to sow some lettuce and sweet pea seeds.

My mother, who has a very green thumb, had advised that LAST week was when the root crops should go in, and NEXT week will be the rest of the seeds. When I mentioned to her late last week that I didn't have my root vegetables in yet, she hesitated then said that of course I could plant them on the weekend. But the hesitation? (Also note that I didn't mention transplants yet, this part is only about seeding). My mom once had an article in the Salmon Arm paper called "Faith on Gardens" (really) and she's also gardened in the North Peace, so her information is reliable. I believe one of her sources is the Farmers' Almanac, so that's where I headed next.

The Farmer's Almanac is a little confusing & I've posted it online here. http://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/gardening/. What can I say except, oops. Apparently my seeds will now rot. It was a new moon on Friday, whatever that means in gardening circles. Tomorrow (Monday) will be safe for planting, but not the weekend. Now we can plant Monday or Tuesday (17th/18th) but then not again until the 24th, so definitely take your long weekend early. Of course, I was planning to plant again on Friday or Saturday, so I better make new plans. Confused yet?

So, I decided to check out some local advice: http://calgarygardencoach.typepad.com/calgarygardencoach/2009/04/when-can-i-start-planting-vegetable-seeds-in-calgary.html. According to this blogger, I'm doing just fine and there's no mention about the moon. The advice there is a little more generic, with of course, the usual Calgary advice-don't transplant until after the May long weekend.

So maybe the garden will survive after all.

It's also not my first garden, I'm now on year 8 of gardening in Calgary. But for those who do garden, you know that every year you wonder when should the seeds go in, when should I plant? You watch the weather, apparently you should watch the moon, and you watch your own schedule for when you have time to get it all done. And for me, that all aligned this Sunday. My dad had turned the soil, Scott added the compost-complete with coffee filters and egg shells sticking up every foot, and Scott and Scarlett were busy playing ball for long enough for me to do most of the seeding. Which is the easy part, truthfully.

Now I can look forward to watching the garden grow, which should start within the next two weeks. Unless my seeds rot in the ground, of course.