It’s a hard thing for me to deal with this spring…yes, February is the beginning of our spring planting season here in the Lowcountry…and here it is March and I have precious little in the ground save the quickie crops…radishes, etc.
This spring…we are thinking we will be moving. If not right now, as soon as school ends, which is long before most crops will be grown and ready to harvest. How then to have a decent garden at a time when the uncertainty of the months ahead makes it ever more important to have my own source of vegetables? The pear tree is covered in blooms. If we are here long enough, there will be bumper crops of pears, blackberries and black raspberries. The blueberries are still in pots, I got them last winter on sale, and didn’t want them in the ground till I could be assured of no strange weather eccentricities. Now would be the perfect time to put them in…but…ya know, moving.
Herbs aren’t so difficult, they do well in planters as long as they have room to spread out. So this weekend, pots of Mexican oregano, tarragon, white sage, lots of new starts off my very old rosemary. I still need marjoram, cilantro, and basil (probably a couple of kinds, variety is the spice of life) as well as nasturtiums.
And then there is the entire issue of which crops to plant now, which I can pot and transport, which we will simply have to do without this season. My much loved pod peas will be grown and ready to harvest in no time. Things like cauliflower and broccoli? Sigh.
The obvious alternative would be to see if I can budget a share in a CSA. This might be the best option…particularly in a transitional period where I will most likely need another year to get the garden itself ready for proper planting, and when our hectic lives are better suited to some crops than others, a CSA would provide a better range of produce. I am checking it out now and will let ya’ll know how it goes.
Pamela C Reese 