The Ten Most Popular Posts this Week - and the #1 Reason I Haven't Been in the Garden Very Much

Thankfully it's an extremely cute reason.

Realization of the Day:

I keep composing garden blog posts in my head—but little lambs keep popping out instead. We have 17 19 to date (including three sets of triplets!), with many more on the way. If you need a break from playing in the dirt, you can catch up with all the barnyard cuteness here.

So what do sheep have to do with gardening, besides keeping me from doing much? Sheep manure! You can read all about this wonderful stuff in the post I wrote last season around this time, Using Sheep Manure as an Organic Fertilizer in the Garden (and What's Keeping Me from Working in Mine).

I have managed to sneak in a little quality garden time during the past week in between round the clock barn checks:

—I direct sowed some arugula and three types of lettuce seeds that I bought on a whim at the farm store last week (this is several weeks late, but I'm hoping Saturday's 92 degrees was a fluke, and I'll be able to harvest some before it all bolts in the late spring heat)

—I planted a small spot in the greenhouse (the only part not full of Swiss chard and herbs) with Genovese basil seeds, an experiment (done on time!) that I'm really excited about.

—I put one of the three bunches of onion plants (Candy) I ordered this year into the ground, only four (!) weeks after they arrived (they're supposed to be stay alive but dormant for three weeks, so even though they don't look so great, my fingers are crossed).

The other two bunches (Red Candy Apple and Texas 1015) will hopefully get planted tonight or tomorrow. You can read about my experiences growing onions from purchased plants here.

—I finally took some of the giant pieces of cardboard I've been saving for (ahem) a couple of years and covered several of my weedy raised beds with them (something I meant to do last fall, before they filled with weeds). Unfortunately I chose the windiest day of the year to do this, so every piece blew off and scattered all over the garden a few hours later—even the weighted down pieces. That was fun.

I probably (hopefully) did some other stuff I'm forgetting about, besides harvesting lots of beautiful, incredibly heat and cold tolerant, overwintered Swiss chard. I love that stuff!

It's very green in the greenhouse today, including in the walkway. I can't bear to pull up volunteer vegetables, especially when it's Swiss chard.

Meanwhile, what are other gardeners doing—or at least reading about—right now? These are the ten most popular In My Kitchen Garden posts from the past week:

How To Grow Your Own Swiss Chard from seed and Why You Should (Wondering what to do with Swiss chard? This post includes links to my favorite ways to enjoy it.)

How To Grow Beets from Seed and Why You Should (My favorite way to eat beets? Caramelized with Garlic.)

Lettuce and Arugula in the Garden, with Step-by-Step Photos Showing How To Grow Arugula from Seed in Less than a Month (This addicting, all purpose Arugula Cottage Cheese Dip/Spread/Sauce is a quick and healthy way to enjoy your arugula bounty.)

How To Make Homemade Pizza Sauce Using Fresh Tomatoes (Hello, readers in the southern hemisphere!)

How To Grow Your Own Gourmet Lettuce from Seed - It's Easier than You Think! (I love lettuce so much I even eat it for breakfast.)

Preserving the Harvest: How To Freeze Tomatoes the Really Easy Way (and Why I Don't Do Much Canning Anymore)

Spring Green Garlic: Growing It, Cooking with It, Loving It, plus a Recipe for Easy Green Garlic Fettuccine

Building a Simple, Inexpensive, Homemade Greenhouse

Do It Yourself Kitchen Garden Inspiration: Build an Amish Cold Frame

Searching for the Best Arugula Pesto Recipe, Making Arugula Pesto Cream Cheese Spread, and Discovering Arugula Pesto Pizza

So what have you been doing (or reading about doing) in the garden this week?

© FarmgirlFare.com, heading back to the barn and then hopefully out into the garden.