Green thumb: spring gardening

A few weeks ago I weeded my two raised planters (the extent of my gardening ambitions), and this weekend, I finally got my spring planting done.

I put in a few strawberry starters, a new adventure for me since I’ve never tried to raise fruit before. The Mister wanted me to try, so… I dedicated a single planter for the experiment.

In the other, I have jalapeños (a plant I’ve had a lot of success with) and a few herbs – Thai basil, and cilantro, along with a pot of chocolate mint. Not sure what I’ll do with the mint, but it smells wonderful.

Over the past several years, I’ve usually put in tomatoes, but this year I’m trying something different with them too.

My planters sit in the far southern corner of my backyard, where I suspect they don’t get a sufficient amount of direct sun – I have lovely plants, but they suffer from bloom drop. I’ve rarely had more than a half a dozen toms ripen to maturity.

This year, I’m trying to raise my toms in patio pots, which I can position on my… wait for it… patio, where they can get adequate light. I hope this works, because there is something magical about the taste of homegrown tomatoes eaten fresh from the vine.

I have a little more room in one planter, so I plan to get in some more gardening this week. I just need to decide what I want. Suggestions welcome, fruit or veggies – Northwest Florida, Hardiness Zone 8B.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.