The Small Beginnings of a 2023 Garden

We (meaning mainly my spouse) are gardening for another year.

In our zone 5b area, it's too early to start most planting, but we are behind on even doing a seed inventory to see what we have on hand.

In the meantime, we traveled to our new raised bed we were able to rent this year from our local community garden.

Right now, it doesn't look like much, but don't be fooled.  A month will make a big difference.

Last year, this new raised bed had been planted and then never harvested.  I remember there being a lot of unharvested yellow pear tomatoes, the remains of which were lying on top of the soil.  Last year's renter even left some nylon (?) fencing, which we may or may not reuse.  These raised beds are prone to deer attacks.  Last year was a bad year for that - we lost all our peas.  Theft, sometimes, too - someone dug up a couple of white eggplant plants with eggplants growing on them.

It's discouraging but my spouse soldiers on because growing things is in his genes.

It will be interesting to see what will come up once we add some soil additives and put in our seeds and plants.  A lot of the new bed will be the home of onion plants that will be coming (mail order) in May.  Spouse uses a lot of onions in his cooking.

Meanwhile, back in the raised bed we've had for several years, plants are coming to life.

The green you see is garlic planted in the fall coming up.

This is a chive plant we rescued (with permission) from a walkway in the raised bed area (apparently someone's chives had seeded the walkway, which was full of chive plants last year) and that is sprouting, too.

Yesterday and today, it's been raining.  It probably won't get into the 40's F today, and as soon as the rain stops, it will get quite windy.  No planting today.

But it won't be long.

Hopefully.