Well, it's that time of year again, people -- I'm   attempting to grow a great garden that will supply us with fresh  vegetables.
Last year I really loaded up around the plants with good doses of Miracle Gro, which I love.
I did have five-foot tomato plants with giant, hardy leaves and waited forever for them to bear fruit!
I'm taking it a little easier with fertilizer this time.
I solved two problems this year.  You know how you're always saying that you'll do such-and-such next time? One thing I wanted to do was prevent my yard-work sneakers from getting covered in dirt and mud every time that I tended to my garden.  I didn't have a place to step into the midst of the garden.  I also had quite a few leftover bricks hanging around, which I wanted to incorporate into something.  Being stacked next to the shed really wasn't too attractive.
So I decided to make a little stepping-stone path to stand on this year, so that I wouldn't be stepping in mud while tying up plants or pulling up some radishes and picking vegetables.
I laid out the whole bricks that I rounded up, and placed them where I thought they would serve me well.  Next, I took my trowel and outlined the area.  After lifting the bricks up and placing them to the side, I dug out the proposed home of the bricks, then kept placing them back, trying to gauge the correct depth for them, so that they would more or less end up at ground level.
It sounds easy enough, but while following these steps, I was bombarded by mosquitoes and little black flies while sweating!  I did use Off; but they were still annoying me, especially around my face.
Why do I pick the hottest days to do these chores?  I guess you have to get the garden in by a certain time, because the growing season in New England is short; so you take every clear day that you can to get your work done.
After putting the bricks in the best I could, I stepped on them to try to make them level out at approximately the same height.  They're not perfect, but it's the best I could do under the circumstances.
I placed my window-started plants in the soil and watered them.  They are now starting to perk up, after spreading out their roots in real soil.
At the time that this picture was taken, I had sprinkled those radish seeds 5 days earlier.  I was surprised at how quickly they popped up.
The garden looks skimpy now, but I know that it's only a matter of time before the plants will all be towering.
We are getting somewhat short on full sun now, as our trees have grown and are slowly shading so much of the yard.  Before planting the garden this year, my husband and I trimmed quite a few branches from a nearby maple tree to allow for more sunlight to our future veggies.
I will be taking more pics as the garden progresses!