Today I planted a ring of onion seeds around each of my four tomato plants to help protect them from pests. Then I transplanted my baby kale plants to a sunnier place in the garden.
This is my first Southern California garden, though I have been gardening both as a hobby and as a professional for most of my life. When we rented this house last fall, the sun was in an entirely different place, and, foolishly, I planned my crops around the sun patterns at that time. Well, of course, now the sun is in a completely different location, and most of the garden plots that were already here when we moved in are now in the shade most of the day. It is always best to watch your yard for a year to locate the optimal place to garden, but I just wanted to dive right in and get things growing. Fortunately, the only cost is a little time and a few seeds. That’s the beauty of a garden: huge Return on Investment!
It’s fun to be able to garden year-round in this climate, though it is not without its drawbacks. Aphids have been attacking the roses—and now my tomatoes—for the last month, and I’m sure the pests never go dormant, just as the weather never gets cold. Nevertheless, I’ve never planted tomatoes in March before!
In the garden so far I have snap peas, lettuce, kale, collards, bok choi, carrots, beets, spinach, Swiss chard, onions, tomatoes, parsley, rosemary and oregano. Soon I will plant cilantro, peppers, basil, squash, melons and beans, but it needs to warm up a bit first.
We’ll see what grows and what doesn’t this year. For the cost of a few packets of seeds, it’s a worthwhile and enjoyable experiment that might provide us with ample food yet. Stay tuned!
