Gardening 2013 - New Beginnings

It's that time of year again - nearly springtime, and I'm ready to get my garden started!

For those who don't know, my garden is done solely in containers/ planters. They are located on our back porch, which faces west. Because of the positioning of our neighbors' houses, we get plenty of light exposure, as well as shade. Last year, we harvested peas, tomatoes, chocolate mint, chives, green onions, lemon balm, and a few varieties of lettuce.

So far this year, my chives have started to come back! And the green onions are still growing like crazy. So we're definitely doing those again. :) Additionally, the lemon balm is slowly coming back. The strawberries that we transplanted from a friend's garden didn't bear fruit last year (we weren't surprised). Hopefully, they produce some succulent strawberries this year!

Here's what (half) of my garden looks like currently:

From left to right, we have chives, lemon balm, strawberries, shallots, chocolate mint and an empty container (will probably plant some more lettuce or something in it this week). In the container just to the right of that last (black) one, there is another identical one that has the green onions and romaine lettuce seeds (just planted) in it.

Last weekend, I asked Robert to please get rid of all the dead stuff in the containers (we could clearly see what was coming back and what was dead). He did it quickly (it was pouring down rain right after he finished), and I was able to see what I needed to plant and where.

I'm using SproutRobot to do my garden this year. (Yep, I found it on Pinterest!) I'm also starting some things from seeds, which I really haven't done for a long while (at least a couple years!) I do plan to get some starts from the food co-op as soon as I can get up there, as well.

This year, we will not be growing tomatoes, so that frees up 3 huge containers. I'm thinking bell peppers, or carrots and/or garlic would be good. :)

Here's a picture from last week of my chives, and a picture from this week:

That's a lot of growth in one week! Must mean things are warming up. I estimate about 4 inches of growth since last week! I told my co-worker I might have to make my famous cheddar-chive bites and bring some into the office if my chives keep growing like they are! I didn't even replace any topsoil or anything. Just left it from last year. Although I may do a sprinkling of topsoil in April over everything I have planted by then, but only because I know I won't have a lot of time to tend to things before the baby comes in May. :)

We'll see how our garden shapes up this year! I'm excited for it. :) What are you planting this year?