It’s In

April 14, 2025

It has been an odd planting season (month) this year, to say the least.  It started four weeks ago when I went to the soil and mulch supply I had used for the Hügelkultur raised beds last year.  I had read that the limbs and wood on the bottom layer would decay over several years and as it does, the soil will sink.  At least I did not get the dreaded sink holes that can result when you do not compact the soil into the limbs well enough.  I ordered two skid scoops of topsoil but could only get one in my 8×5 foot (2.4×1.5 m) trailer.  I realized too late I wanted raised bed soil (a topsoil/compost mix) rather than topsoil.  I put the entire scoop into the four raised beds and when I went back for the second load, I changed my order to raised bed soil.  I used this to top off the raised beds and put a layer over two additional beds.  Melissa is going to scatter a wildflower mix in the bed in front of the house and I was going to put squash and lettuce in the back bed I had used for last year’s three sisters (corn, beans, squash).  I misjudged the amount of work this was going to take.  After two long afternoons the soil was finally laid down.  I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It’s In”.

When I looked online, I found the Old Farmer’s Almanac says the average last frost date for USDA hardiness zone 7a is between March 22 and April 3.  It is Generally safe to plant most garden vegetables after this period, but you need to check local weather forecasts for potential late frosts.  We got excited and went to the plant nursery during the last weekend of March and got some great deals on six packs of peppers (Capsicum annuum), tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), and squash (Cucurbita pepo).  I was prepared to put them in the following Monday, but the weather person said there was a “possibility” of one of two frost days (they were right).  We put the plants on the porch with Melissa’s succulents where they could get sun and be out of the cold.  Melissa was countering the humidity for her succulents, so the fan was running 24/7.  The veggies did not like the fan and dried out quickly.  We brought them into the house and Melissa babied them.  Finally last week I was ready to take the risk and put them all in the ground along with the radish (Raphanus sativus), carrot (Daucus carota), beet (Beta vulgaris) seeds, and a hill each of cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus).  I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It’s In”.

I had worried as I planted the veggies last Monday as several were looking poorly.  I mulched and watered them for several days before I bought replacements and replanted five.  As the week went on several more withered and died.  I removed the store plants and planted seed for several straight necked squash and cucumbers (Cucumis sativus).  As I watered this morning, I faced the dilemma of what to do with three tomatoes and two bell peppers that were struggling.  It was iffy whether they would survive and if I waited to act it would probably be too late for seed before the summer heat.  I went back to the co-op and found a six pack of Cherokee purple tomatoes and two single peppers.  That meant I had more plants than planters, but the six pack was the same price as one single (I needed two).  I ended up placing two of the tomatoes in the back bed with the squash and found another container for the third.  I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It’s In”.        

THOUGHTS: Each time I said, “It’s In”, I thought the job was over.  While I could have left the empty containers and garden spaces I was unwilling to do so.  I had already invested too much time and energy to quit when I was so close to completing my planting.   I did tell Melissa after finishing today that I was not going to buy any more plants.  If any fail now their spaces will be reserved for my summer/fall planting.  In gardening and life, you need to be willing to overcome initial setbacks.  You also need to know when it is time to change strategies and tactics.  Doing the same thing and expecting different results rarely works.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.