Spring into Gardening! February 23 2014

For those of us in Southern California, Spring has already sprung!  This year winter has been very short, and have no complains at all! It is already too warm to grow lettuce or romaine.  In fact, my bok choy and lettuce are already flowering, finishing their cycle. I'm a little sad to see them go, but this also means I have a bunch of different varieties to look forward to.  

It still amazes me how quickly you can grow food.  Even from seed, in just a few months your food will be ready for harvest.  With a little planning, you can get food growing almost year round!  

Currently I just planted seeds of bell peppers, Anaheim peppers, kale, cilantro, and Winged Beans.  As the Scarlet Runner Beans, I planted the seeds 2 weeks ago and today a few were already transplanted to the ground!  I really love using these ergonomic gardening tools that were given to me last Christmas.  Since I work with my hands so much, these tools are such much easier on my wrists.  I really have been enjoying gardening with much lesser effort.  I highly suggest checking these tools out if you have carpal tunnel or arthritis for gardening to be more enjoyable. Click here to check them out!   

If you are in the colder regions, I hope spring will come soon for you so you can start growing again!  Leafy greens such as kale, swiss chard, celery, or arugula seem to have a pretty long growing period.  Places without freeze can enjoy these in the garden year round!  

Herbs that do well in the spring are cilantro and basil.  You can start these or even keep them on a bright window sill.  These herbs like cooler weather so I plant them in the shade or under some larger plants to keep them growing longer.  To keep them going a little longer, you can pluck off the flower buds when they start to develop too.  Have you bought any seeds or save any from last year?  Hope you get to sow your seeds soon.  Happy Gardening!  :D