Spring is in the Air

While I'm currently working out plans to get a training hike in soon, the big and beautiful distraction right now is spring arriving. We have a whole month of frost-risk left, but the sunlight and warmth and green, growing things emerging all have me brimming with excitement. 

Soon I'll compost, and dig, and plant, and mulch, and smell the dirt, and watch things spring up from that dirt.

Soon I'll dry herbs and make teas and chop home-ripened veg into flavourful salsa. Homegrown tomatoes!! Homegrown cilantro!! Heaven. I'm in heaven.

And here's the pictures to back me up:

Seeds and onion sets, all chosen last fall and purchased yesterday. 

There'll be canteloupe, and fennel, and lemongrass, and....

 

Then, out in the garden, some herbs wintered well under a pile of leaves and pine needles​. They're starting to push their way to the light...

Mullein, yarrow, catnip, echinacea, peppermint, lemon balm, thyme, Russian tarragon, chives, and bee balm - all raising their little green faces out of their winter covers to say, "I'm here" and "me too."

And there's me, beaming at each discovery, each green and growing thing. 😄

Strawberries love pine mulch...

Now to watch diligently for chances of frost. I may have to tuck all these plants in a few more times before it's truly safe.

But they're here all the same! And with them, spring. 

😍😊🌱🍓🌿

Sample Garden: Companion Planting

My source: Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte

Bed #1: The Strawberry patch

Onions are compatible with almost all plants (except peas and beans) and work to repel pests. Strawberries are among the plants they especially like, so I planted a bunch of onions throughout my strawberry patch. I also planted some garlic in this bed, as it repels pests much like onion does. I put in a row of spinach here as well, since strawberries do well with them.

 

Next year: I would put some bush beans down the center of this bed, as they do well with strawberries, too. I would then omit the onions and garlic, since they inhibit the growth of beans. I'd add marigold to ward off pests.

 

 

 



Bed #2: Veggies

 In this bed, I put four tomato plants with radishes, carrots, arugula and marigolds planted between them.
The carrots are there because as the book title says, "Carrots LOVE Tomatoes."
The radishes and marigolds act as pest repellants.

The parsley planted in this bed is friendly to both tomatoes and carrots.
The dill and Brussels sprouts here are good companions. I should probably have put the dill farther from the carrots, however.
There's arugula here as well, and as far as I know, it doesn't have any unfriendliness to other plants.
On the end farthest from the tomatoes are bell peppers and hot peppers.

Next year: Members of the cabbage family should not be rotated with each other, so I'll need to avoid planting cabbage family members where the Brussels sprouts and radishes were grown this year. Also, tomatoes enjoy being in the same spot consecutive years, so I'll plan to put them exactly where they were this year.  

 



Bed #3: More Veggies

In this bed I have marigolds for general pest repellant. There are radishes throughout to protect the zucchini squash and cucumbers and pole beans planted here. There are nasturtiums protecting the squash as well. I put cilantro here as well, since I know of no dislikes between it and any other plants. 

 

Do you do any companion planting? What are you favorite plants to pair?