So, this past beautiful weekend we took some time to put our cool-season garden plants in and weeded up our raised beds. We put red and yellow onions in the raised beds with our strawberries and raspberries–which are both coming back well this year. I talked a little bit last year about companion planting. We’re trying to use the same basic plan as last year with a  little rotation this year.

Our raspberries actually look better so far this year than last! All four plants are coming back and two of them have spread.

I mentioned on Facebook the other day that our asparagus just shot up too. This time of year it’s like one day there’s nothing–the next day you’ve got plants 3 and 4 inches out of the ground! You have to check the bed every day to be sure to cut it at the right time. Asparagus becomes one of our Spring staples in the kitchen every year–here’s a great Pin I found with 35+ Beautiful Asparagus recipes!

The crew also helped Mr. Fix-It planted broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts. A row of each.

Now if there’s one simple gardening tip I give to anyone and everyone that will listen it’s this…DON’T plant stuff you don’t eat! There’s this theory floating around that if you plant it you’ll like it because you’re invested in all the work you put in. (I hear this a lot with people trying to get their kiddos to eat vegetables.) Well, here’s my thing–it’s too much work to invest in stuff you don’t like!

When it’s 98 degrees in July and you have to be out there hoeing the garden without a speck of shade to be seen–you at least want to know that you’re going to enjoy eating what you’re working so hard to grow! If you want to try something new, stick to maybe just one new thing a season. That’s how asparagus was for us. I never ate it before I was married. Now we grow it and eat it constantly for two months of the year.

Which is why I laugh at Mr. Fix-It bringing home brussel sprouts. I’ve never eaten a brussel sprout. I’ve never cooked a brussel sprout. Brussel sprouts were one of those foods you got threatened with for punishment in my house growing up! Apparently Mr. Fix-It likes them and intends to expand my palate to include them! {smile}

Just for the record, in our house growing up we pretty much only ate corn, carrots, green beans, and the occasional broccoli and lima beans. Oh, and lettuce and tomatoes. And I didn’t like most of those! {smile}

Now I eat onions, broccoli, cauliflower (still not a fan of cooked cauliflower), asparagus, sugar snaps, cucumbers, squash, cabbage (ok, I don’t like that one cooked either!) and now, apparently, I’m going to be adding brussel sprouts to the list. {smile} We’ll have to see how it goes.

We still have to put in lettuce (we usually do a leaf and a head lettuce) and potatoes–probably this weekend. We’ve had a pretty long winter, so we’re still holding off on our first crop of beans and peas, but it’s just about time for those too. It’s like suddenly Spring is here again! Everything else will be a couple weeks for us.

Will you be gardening this year? Do you have any great brussel sprout recipes? I’m gonna need ’em! {smile}

See where I’m sharing this week…