I don’t worry about Good Friday being a “deadline.” I study the weather, expected rain, and current temperatures. We plant differently each year. This year, we chose to start planting the Monday after Easter, which was April 5.

I had already tilled the planting areas several times throughout the winter, so the dirt was in pretty good shape. We continued to add items to the compost bin throughout fall and winter so we also had plenty of good quality compost to add to the dirt and add around the roots of the vegetables after planting.

I am like a little kid waiting for Santa to visit when it comes to our Spring seeds sprouting.

There have been years when I planted, and big rains came, and I worried it would wash the seeds away or beat the young plants down. Things had gotten really dry here around Easter. The yellow pollen dust was covering everything, and flurries of it were floating through the air from all of the blooming going on.

We prayed for some rain to rinse the trees and clear away the pollen.

We planted okra seeds and zipper peas on Monday. We also planted pepper and tomato plants. The rain came two days after, and it was a nice slow gentle rain that lasted all day. We planted the watermelon, cucumber, cantaloupe, and squash seeds two days after the rain.

The peas and okra sprouted on the 7th day. I love the way the dirt starts to “crack” along the row as the sprouts prepare to break through the ground.

So now we have plenty to tend to making sure the plants are well watered and fertilized. Most of the weeding will be handled by Daisy Mae, the plow. We always leave plenty enough room between rows to accommodate the plow.

The compost bin is going strong and we’ll continue to add to it regularly. Compost will be placed around the bases of the plants throughout the growing season.

In summary, here is what is growing here now:

Lettuce, Cabbage, Peppers, Tomatoes, Zipper Peas, Okra, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Cucumbers, Zucchini and Yellow Squash, and Green Onions

As always, Happy Gardening!

The Ranchers Daughter
theranchersdaughter.com