Midweek Garden Journal Update - Planting Out - by Sunscape

It's planting time! The cooler-loving plants are going out into the garden. I had this amount of spinach and lettuce left in the seed tray, and I decided to put them into one of the raised growing beds. Once I harvest them, in early summer, I plan to plant carrots here.

One bed finished before the rain starts this afternoon. These will do well here since the Star Magnolia tree will keep them shaded.

Next up, the cabbage varieties, arugula, and endive all went into the largest raised bed. Hubby did a great job planting them for me, as I still had to be careful not to bend too much after the eyelid surgery.

Once he was done, he put the flats of onions between the plants to harden them off.

Hubby put the shade cloth over the hoops to protect the plants from the hot sun. That afternoon, a steady light rain watered everything in nicely.

The following day, I was enjoying a cup of coffee on the back porch. Would you believe I saw two cabbage butterflies flying together, looking to mate? Well, you know that those butterflies lay their eggs on the cabbage plants, and that is not going to happen in my garden.

I got right up and had my husband help me put the protective netting on the hoops before those buggers had a chance to find my plants.

I was feeling strong enough, so I got out my kneeling bench and started planting the Red Onions, and then rested for a while before planting the tray of Spanish Onions.

I don't have a lot of growing space for vegetables, so I tend to plant things closer than called for. The onions should do very well in the smaller raised bed, which gets full sun all day long. I still have a flat of Walla Walla Onions to find a spot for, maybe today will be a good time to plant before the rains come this afternoon.

The Raspberry plants are leafing out quickly, and I need to pick a few leaves for tea before the plants make berries.

The Bradford Pear Tree is in full bloom and looks so pretty. Once the rain comes today, that will finish her beauty off for the season.

All the Candytuft and Aubrieta are in bloom and cascading over the rocks. I just love spring flowers, don't you?

That was enough gardening for a couple of days; now I need to rest a bit before planting that last flat of onions. But the hydroponic lettuce had to be harvested since it was starting to bolt. Time for a nice salad for lunch.