Growing a Salad and SpRiNg!

The day after we built and filled in our garden, we looked out front and there on the dirt pile were two HUGE woodpeckers!  I mean, they were as big as Woody Woodpecker.  We couldn't get a good picture of them before they flew up into the tree, but you can see them if you look closely below.  Remember, this is a very zoomed in picture, so just take my word for it, they were big!! 

Also, in the midst of planting, we got to watch spring officially arrive.  Now, if you stay inside all day, you completely miss this exciting event!  I LOVE to see the first blooms on our pretty tree out front.  It took a little longer this year than normal - I guess the cold scared it off!  But, it finally started poking out little buds as we were starting our garden.

Our crepe myrtle tree out back is always cut back to sticks about March, so it is exciting to see the first sign of buds.  Here is a picture of one of the branches the day we were building the garden:

This is the same branch, 3 days later:

Again, the same branch, one week after the original.  God makes all things beautiful in His time!

Ok, Ok, on to the garden.  So, the garden was built, we added good organic fertilizer to the soil in the bed, mixed it around, and we were ready for some veggies.  We bought a few that were already started, since, according to Florida guidelines, we were a little late in getting things in the ground.  Plus, we were a little nervous about critters coming and eating up all our seeds before they could grow, so for us, a mix of some starters and some seeds seemed a good decision.  Here, we are getting things going:

Here is the partially finished plot.  MaKenna made the cute little signs!  In case you can't tell, we planted 3 types of tomatoes - Better Boys, Roma and Cherry, Bell Peppers, Zucchini (all the starter plants), and from seed, Sweet Onions, Carrots, Lettuce, Spinach, Blue Lake Beans and Zipper Peas.  In two smaller containers, we also planted Cucumber (plant) and Basil (seed).
 

Hmmm, while the girls and I planted the veggies, what did the guys start??? More on that to come!  You'll have to be surprised!

This picture shows a couple of things - first, we "mulched" it with some leaves.  Also, this picture is one week from planting - do you see our beans, peas, carrots, spinach, onions and lettuce growing????!!!  How exciting!  We are almost at 2 weeks now, and they are even bigger.  I will post more pics soon and the newest addition to the garden scene.

We are about to build one more raised bed garden next to this one, while we still have the wood and dirt here.  We may plant some watermelon and pumpkin in that one!

We have worked hard to get this going, but we are loving the process so much.  We have had a few critters dig in it and found that when we sprinkle cayenne pepper around the perimeter, they stay away!  We will have to redo it tomorrow, since it has rained the past few days, but it seems to be a good, safe way to keep unwanteds out.

Anyone else gardening this year?  What are the tricks that you have found to work with critters - both bugs and animals?  What are you growing?  I have so much more to share and will hopefully get there soon!  In the meantime, I will dream about the yummy meals I will make with my homegrown vegetables!