Oh spring, how lovely it is to see you. My little sprouts are poking their heads out in our flower beds. I was really surprised to see how pretty my beet seedlings are. They’re a vibrant fuschia color and are particularly striking next to the rich black compost. Pink is in. Now I just have to figure out how to eat beets. They’re not a food that I’m familiar with outside of the pickled version at the salad bar. I’ve been feeling adventurous though.

JT’s been working hard on our front yard reclamation project. He tilled up the front “lawn” between the sidewalk and the curb, planted our three new, heirloom apple trees (two Pippins and a Freedom), and made a couple stone pathways to the street. The apple trees probably won’t produce until 2012. Rather than planting more grass, we selected a cover crop of white dutch clover to feed our soil, provide a green manure, and attract pollinators. Now we’re in the process of ripping out six large yews, which hog too much of our precious sunny space. We bought two Stella Cherry trees, which will fill some of the space and produce this year (JT was feeling impatient and splurged). The plot in front of the porch will be our asparagus patch and home to a slew of other crops. We’ll do our best to make it look pretty by filling in with edible/medicinal flowers and herbs. I’ll post photos to document the progress. 

Three of our beds are partially shady and I’m really close to abandoning them. I’m trying one last time with some crops that supposedly do ok without full sun, but I’m not holding my breath. My lettuce, spinach, peas, and beans did pretty well because they’re cool crops and the trees hadn’t filled in yet. An article I read, claims that potatoes, carrots, alliums, kale, beets, cilantro, and others can also do well in those conditions. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Out of all the new life sprouting within and without our home, most of my energy has been going into being a mama and my second pregnancy. I’m wrapping up my first trimester and feeling like the storm might actually be over. It’s been such a different experience this time around – physically and mentally. Wrangling a toddler, working part-time, and taking care of myself certainly makes the time fly. October is going to be here before we know it.