With all the rain we are having here in California, it’s hard to believe that we are having an early spring. Some days are filled with sunshine and other days have rain and howling wind. Not exactly ideal for an early spring, but that is the beauty of being in the middle of two seasons, you get to experience the rain, but you also start to see the early signs of spring.

The trees are starting to get their annual white or pink flowers and the bee boxes have been placed out for the pollinators. In late fall, I planted tulip bulbs, and while they seemed to take their time coming up from the ground, they are now up and showing off their petals.

I have been in aww to see mother nature slowly come out of hibernation. In the mornings, I hear the birds more and more as the dawn approaches. It can be difficult to get outside with all the mud from the rain, but the smell of the wet earth is a sweet reminder that everything comes in good time.

The days of being outside from dawn till dusk will come. When we can really get our hands dirty and work outside on projects to make the backyard more inviting for company. The days of sweet, iced tea and watching the sunset will be here before we know it.

For now, as we wait in this middle ground, all we can do is be patient and slowly come out of hibernation ourselves. Who would have thought I would miss the sound of the humming of bees? It excites me to see the wisteria starting to get its purple flowers, it’s not yet in full bloom but in a few more weeks it will look like something enchanting, and the bees will get to work in the beautiful flowers.

While I wait, as patiently as I possibly can, I have started thinking about 2024’s garden. So many ideas and thoughts went through my mind, I started writing it all down. What did I want to grow this year? What did I want to focus on? How would it all look? Would anything even grow?

Instead of thinking of all the ways this gardening project could fail, I thought about all the ways this garden could teach me something.

• It takes hard work and dedication to a garden, but the best things are worth working hard for.

• Patience, in watching things grow in their own time.

• Realizing that I don’t have control over everything, certainly not the weather.

• Lastly, sometimes you have to stop and (literally) smell the roses.

Before I go and start planting seeds outside, while the weather is still so unpredictable, I knew there were a few things I had to learn about. I decided that this garden would have organic practices, and I wanted to disturb the soil as little as possible, so I did some research on No Till gardens.

Organic gardening is what I am striving for this year. Instead of spraying the weeds, I am doing a “no till” garden (or “no dig” garden). A No Till garden is when you try disrupting the soil as little as possible. Instead of tilling, you lay cardboard down to help suffocate the weed and grass seed, then you add a generous layer of woodchips to the top of the cardboard.

This creates a blank canvas for you to start gardening on. If you’re into a more market style of gardening, where you plant directly in ground, all you need is some good quality compost and a layer of topsoil on the ground. You can direct sow (or transplant) straight into the ground.

If your more of a garden bed person, you can build your garden bed, then lay it on top of the cardboard and not have to worry about grass or weeds growing up into the beds. This can also help when you’re a first-time gardener and are intimidated by all of the plants to grow. This way, it’s as though things seem to be more “organized”.

There were a few more things to research, like my growing zone, frost dates, sunny and shady plants, and cold crops vs. warm crops. At first it felt overwhelming, but the best part about rainy days is you have some time to stay in, make a cup of tea and read up on these things.

I checked my growing zone (my zone is 9b), this will help me know my growing season and how many months I can grow warm crops outside before the frost comes. Then I checked my frost dates, which helps me figure out when I can start sowing seeds and when I need to start putting the garden to bed.

Throughout the year of 2023, I paid attention to the areas that got a lot of sunlight and which areas got shade in the backyard. I started to look at seed packets and took note on which ones like full sun, which ones like shade and which ones are in between.

I have organized and taken inventory of seeds and with the help of an app called Planter, I have laid out a plan for 2024’s garden. I didn’t realize how many seeds I’ve accumulated over the last two years, but I have quite a bit. From flowers to herbs to vegetables, I got the basics of it all.

Planter is a wonderful app that lets you plan a lay out of your garden by the square footing. Weather you prefer a market garden style or gardening beds, this app comes in handy. It lets you know how many plants can go in a square footing and it also has info on the plants themselves.

This app gives information on companion planting (plants that do well together) and combative planting (plants that do poorly together), and for an organic gardener like me this information comes in handy to help keep pests at bay and naturally adding nutrients to the soil.

Last year, I was introduced to Chip Drop, a website that works with tree companies who are trying to get rid of logs and/or wood chips for free (they also take donations). They deliver by the truck load and the only downside (if you could even really call it that) is, you don’t get to pick what color of the woodchips or the type of wood you’re getting.

Luckily for me, I like the look of a rustic style this gives off. It doesn’t bother me all that much to have a darker wood one drop, and a lighter wood the next. If it means I can keep the chemicals out of my garden, I’m okay with that.

In 2023 I wanted to ease into gardening slowly, I didn’t want to overwhelm myself and bite off more than I can chew, but this year I am all in. Even if things fail to grow, I will look at it as a learning experience rather than a complete flop.

My mother sent me a reel on Instagram about the winter sowing method, I was very interested in this method since you wouldn’t need to grow plants indoors over winter, instead you can grow them outside. I did a little research on YouTube and took some notes.

A fellow gardener on YouTube uses this method and has had great results, so I thought I would give it a try as well (go check out The Southern Daisy on YouTube, her videos are so informative). I started with flowers such as statice, dahlia, snapdragons, strawflower, zinnias, carnations, and cosmos. Flowers help with pollination in the garden by attracting bees and butterflies.

I have mostly stuck to the more delicate flower seeds that do better when started indoors then transplanted out when the weather is suitable. Since I don’t have a lot of space to start these seeds indoors, I have gone for a different approach. I asked my family members to save some milk jugs for me this past summer so I could use them for winter sowing.

I started winter sowing by taking the empty milk jugs and poking a few holes with a safety knife on the bottom for proper drainage. Then I cut the milk jug in half, leaving one side uncut, so I could open and close the container. I then took a coffee filter to put on the bottom half of the jug to help with pests, I then added a good amount of soil on top of the filter.

Not wanting to put all of my eggs in one basket, I only added half of a seed packet to each jug. I added a light layer of soil to cover the seeds and then I sprinkled in some water to make sure everything was moist. I sealed up the milk jug with some duct tape and made sure to label the jug with a sharpie, so I knew what flower was where.

I left the cap off of the jug to make sure that the seedlings get the feeling of the outdoors. Seedlings do better transplanted when they have had the feeling of being outdoors. They need to know what the wind feels like, what the rain feels like and to have natural sunlight. It’s been a few weeks and already I start to see a few baby seedlings sprout up.

My next project, with the help of my dad, is to build out the garden beds. I plan to lay out some cardboard to keep grass and weeds from coming up, then lay the wooden frames on top and start filling in the beds. I’ll add some small logs, twigs, cut up cardboard and a nice layer of compost to the top.

Instead of filling the beds with only soil, I can add natural materials to help with the cost of things. This year, I plan to put things I already have to use so I don’t spend so much money. Gardening can get pretty pricy, but I’m going to try using what I have first before going out and buying something new.

This year I am going to try companion planting, a single bed will not be filled with just one type of plant, I will be planting things together like: onions, leeks, broccoli, celery, beans and peas. Each plant plays a part, some deter pests, add nutrients to the soil, prevents diseases or attracts beneficial insects.

I would like to work with nature instead of against it. Instead of spraying the plants with a chemical that rids unwanted insects, I would like to use other plants that keep them away. Lavender and marigolds will be a staple in the garden this year. Lavender helps to keep away the mosquitos and marigolds are like trap plants for certain insects.

Other arts and crafts to lift our moods while we wait for spring are:

• Making toad\frog houses. If you live close to a canal or body of water, you might come across a frog or two hanging out in your backyard. Toads\frogs are great for taking out unwanted insects.
• Bug hotels, for beneficial insects to live in and have a place to retreat to if need be.
• Bird houses. There are so many cute ideas for bird houses on Pinterest, and it will feel nice to make a home for a pair of blue jays that are always in the backyard around the fruit trees.
• Bee watering stations. I plan to offer a safe place for pollinators to hydrate so they don’t end up drowning while trying to get water.
• Cute signs to put out in the garden. Some of my signs will include: Farmacy, pumpkin patch and strawberry patch, and of course unique ways of labeling everything I plan to grow.

We still have a few more weeks until we are officially in spring, and yes, it might be muddy outside but with the sun being out, and feeling so inviting, I can’t help but go outside and start working on some projects. I hope everyone has had a restful winter and as we come out of hibernation, I hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine we are getting.

Let me know in the comments down below, what your favorite things to do in spring are and if you’re planning a garden for 2024. God bless everyone and have a wonderful start to the new season :).