Exactly two weeks after we planted our first seeds for some cool weather plants, we saw sprouts emerging. My son woke me up that morning exclaiming,”Mommy! Our plants are growing! I can see them through the window!” He was correct.

After breakfast, we went outside to investigate a little more. Sure enough, we spotted a few spinach, carrot, and pea sprouts.

He celebrated his gardening success by watering them a little more, along with the herb boxes, which are also sprouting on their own from the seed that fell last year. It will be interesting to see what survived. My herb boxes are purely an experiment in self-sufficient gardening.

Later that afternoon, my seed order arrived. We now have everything we need to get our garden started and build a successful butterfly garden. I’ll blog about that more a little later.

For those of you who were very concerned with our early planting of the spinach, carrots, and peas, you can breathe a sigh of relief. I am knowingly planting them earlier than the recommended date because I would like to see if I get a better crop and yield by planting them earlier than the recommended time in our zone, which is May 25. A few individuals, with much more gardening wisdom than I, suggested I try early planting to avoid bolting of the spinach. I’ve been keeping an eye on the overnight temps and will cover the garden beds if they are in danger of frost. The experiment is worth it to me if I can establish this routine successfully in years to come and get a bumper crop of spinach out of the deal. And honestly, I just threw the peas and carrots in for fun.

Clearly, I am into experimental gardening.

What garden experiments have you conducted? Do you have a failure or success that you can share with me? I’m always open to new ideas. Chat with me in the comments.