The best gardeners (and farmers) are the ones who have put in the reps, made the mistakes and learned from them. On Fridays I will (and I invite you to) share the things I learned the hard way so we can learn from and support each other. There is no such thing as a perfect garden.

In the classroom is a mini course on growing ginger indoors. It is not a fast process, but it is not super technical or expensive once you know a few tricks.

This week I have had half a dozen requests to join this community from accounts that Skool has flagged as violating the use of bots rules. They will be declined. This community is by humans for humans. And free from all the advertising on social media. Wishing you a beautiful weekend, wherever you are.

The goslings got to swim for the first time today. Afterwards I put them back in their old tote to let them dry off. Absolutely amazing how fast they are growing.

I love using the phases of the moon to help guide seed starting because it breaks the task up into much more manageable bites. In theory, moon sign planting is based around the tidal pull of the moon on the water in the plants. It is what the farmers almanac uses to suggest the "best days for...". We just had the new moon, so the first quarter moon focuses on starting plants that you are harvesting the leaves, stems or flowers (herbs, broccoli, greens, celery). It is also when you plant grains, and prune or mow to stimulate growth. Then you just pick which first quarter moon is the right distance from the last frost date and poof, you have a planting calendar for the whole spring! 75% of what I want to grow this year is first quarter type plants. Yesterday I spread seed for spinach, kale, some flowers that need frost, parsley and thyme. In a few days I will put out seeds for Millet, Amaranth, Chard, snow peas and inside I might start basil. Next first quarter I will start the sunflowers. Have you heard about planting by the moon? What 1st quarter type plants are you thinking about growing this year? Image is the flower of sunchokes I grew last year.