My return to health is coinciding nicely with the return of warmer weather. And warm weather means gardening. I already have pictures.
Just before I got sick last month I started some herbs and lettuce under a grow light. I enjoyed gardening in my dining room so much that I bought another grow light. Here's my set up: Walmart grow lights with aluminum foil reflectors sitting on long free-standing wire shelves on the floor next to the dining room table. I put my aloe vera near the light to perk it up, too.
The plants have done well. I put them outside in a shady area for a little while this afternoon. They seem to like it.
I also checked on my previous soil bags and found herbs already growing. Parsley, dill, mint, and thyme are going strong.
I've also put out some new soil bags in hopes of foiling my arch-nemesis, bindweed. I dug a trench in the little front garden, lined it with weed retardant fabric and newspaper, and put soil bags on top. I'm not sure if it will work, but it's worth a try. I've already planted snap peas near the little fence in front of the garden. I plan to put in herbs and lettuce soon. I'll also prep the containers from last year to plant beets, radishes, carrots, and tomatoes. I will probably start seeds indoors again and hope for better results now that I have grow lights.
Now that I'm feeling better, I've also gone to the pool once and experimented with eggplant recipes (not at the same time, obviously). The ratatouille and moussaka I made were really good. We discovered that Matt has a slight sensitivity to eggplant. It made his mouth tingle. I researched and learned that eggplant is high in histamines. Since he's never had problems with eggplant in the past, I'm assuming that his allergy to Kentucky is making him more susceptible to allergic-like reactions to histamines. By that logic, I shouldn't eat eggplant in southern Arkansas or east Texas.
I've got to wrap this up now. I'm making waffles for lunch. The waffle maker is on the counter and is calling to me. I tried some Krusteaz waffle mix and thought it was great. Krusteaz does everything well. I've also got some past-their-prime strawberries to puree to put on top. Waffles with strawberries and puttering around barefoot in the garden sounds like a good afternoon.
