A dream come true!

I'm torn. I want the snow to stick around because I want to do more cross-country skiing. I also want the snow to melt and ground to thaw so I can start working on my garden!

The apartment has a small garden plot in the backyard, which is to be shared with our downstairs neighbors. But when I say small, I mean small. It's roughly 2' x 10' of shared space.

Through a bit of online research we discovered that a new community garden will be established a mere three blocks from our apartment! A vacant lot in front of the Hide House - a tannery turned artist space - will be transformed into a beautiful garden space, thanks to Bay View residents and the Victory Garden Initiative.

Vaughn and I jumped on this opportunity and reserved two 4' x 8' for this season! Now the planning begins...

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Vegetables:

Beans: Rattlesnake Pole Bean - an heirloom variety available from High Mowing. These will grow up bamboo teepees

Beets: Bull's Blood Beets - an heirloom variety available from High Mowing. I grew these as salad greens in my garden last year. Beautiful and delicious!

Broccoli: Belstar F1 Hybrid - a compact plant for a compact garden, available from High Mowing. I'll probably stagger the plantings so that I can have broccoli throughout the season - this one does well from spring to fall. Also might grow some broccoli raab, available from Seeds of Change. This one likes cooler weather so I'll plant it in the spring.

Carrots: Napoli F-1 Hybrid- an early full-sized carrot, available from both High Mowing and Seeds of Change. Not sure if I should get regular seeds or pelleted. I tried pelleted last year and the carrots never came up. I'll stagger the plantings on these so we can have harvests throughout the season. The flavor also improves when the temperatures cool off in the fall.

Chard: Rainbow Mix - of course! This will add a splash of color to the garden and my plate.

Cucumbers: Adam F-1 Hybrid - a variety of little picklers available from Seeds of Change. I'll train these up a bamboo teepee like the beans. Can't wait to make pickles again!

Kale: Lacinato Dinosaur - my new favorite heirloom variety available from High Mowing and Seeds of Change. This is a very hardy variety and gets sweeter after a hard frost. I'll sow an early and late season crop.

Peas: Sugar Ann Snap Pea - an early dwarf vined pea with a heavy crop of petite pods. Available from High Mowing.

Peppers: King of the North - a sweet variety that's great for shorter growing seasons. Available from High Mowing. Hungarian Hot Yellow Wax - an early variety and Vaughn's pick. Perfect for pickling.

Spinach: Renegade F1 - a very bolt resistant, smooth-leafed variety available from High Mowing and Seeds of Change. A great quality, tasty leaf.

Tomatoes: Pruden's Purple - an heirloom variety from High Mowing. A large, balanced tomato that rivals the Brandywine. Peacevine - a de-hybridized selection of the Sweet 100 F1 available from High Mowing. Small, uniform, tasty and sweet!

Herbs:

Basil: Aton - a semi-compact Genovese-type basil available from High Mowing.

Cilantro: Santo - easy growing and cool weather tolerant variety from High Mowing.

Sage: Common - my favorite herb. Available from High Mowing.

Thyme: German - might use as a border plant. Available from High Mowing.

Catnip: Common - a little something for Bowie. Available from High Mowing.

Flowers:

Nasturtium: Dwarf Jewel - makes a beautiful border and provides peppery flowers for adding to salads. Available from High Mowing.

Marigold: Tangerine Gem - smaller plants with beautiful bright orange edible flowers that have a citrus flavor. Also great for keeping pests at bay. I plan to plant these around the border.

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The challenge will be fitting all of those into our plots! To save space in the plots, we will probably plant the tomatoes and peppers in our backyard. Training the beans, peas, and cucumbers to climb will also save space in the garden.

I can't wait to order and start seeds! The only south-facing window in our apartment is the one in my office. I have my long sewing table set up under it, and the spot right in front of the window is Bowie's favorite napping spot. I'll have to temporarily relocate Bowie so I can use that window for starting seeds. I'm thinking of using the leftover window plastic to make a mini greenhouse - which will also prevent Bowie from messing with the plants and knocking them off the table. We'll see how it goes...