Today is February 3rd.  And February 3rd marks the half way point between the beginning of winter and the beginning of spring.  As someone who aches to get out and dig in the dirt, I think that’s great news! We’re on the downward slope of the hill.

We are having our first meeting tomorrow to firm up our choices of what vegetables to grow for you this year.  We went to the Giant Eagle Marketplace again today, and all that luscious produce for sale there made me eager to get started growing my own. 

If you are just starting out growing veggies, we’re here to help.  We have all grown vegetables for many years and we are eager to share what we’ve learned with you!  Think of us as your personal gardening resource.

Growing our own vegetables and herbs seems to bring a sense of control over our lives—Heaven knows there’s a lot we have no control over—at least we can control what and how we eat.  Sure, there is an investment in time to get the growing area ready.  Either we need to get an area (in full sun, if possible) dug up and ready to plant in, or we need to get some big patio pots or planters full of soil that are sited and ready for growing.  And there is a learning curve if we’ve never done this before. How exactly do we grow onions and tomatoes and lettuce and peppers…

January 25th.  One more week and January is history.  I’m not a winter person at all, so January and February (especially February) can’t go too fast for me.  During the other months I am continually saying, “Slow Down!”  But this month and next I am saying, “Hurry up already!”

Seed catalogs are piling up; they are my winter salvation.  All those beautiful flowers and succulent vegetables!  This will finally be the year when the weeds and the bugs and the #@*! deer won’t get them.  The season is ripe with possibility!  All gardeners are, by their very nature, optimists.

At the garden center we are still ordering and redecorating– plants don’t begin to come in for another few weeks.  (And I’m certainly glad of that when I look at the nighttime temperatures and my propane bills!)  Our landscape team, Dawn and Chris, attended talks about landscaping at the recent CENTS show, and got some new great ideas.  Dawn has already done a We Plan/You Plant visit this year.

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill where it is cold and the ground is covered with a light layer of snow.