Gardening in Cincinnati

Hi Everyone!

I'm so happy to be participating in The Tasteful Garden's blog!  My name is Karen, and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, zone 6. I'm an avid (rabid, even) vegetable gardener (and, as you can tell from my screenname, a soup fanatic - a nice outlet for vegetables, don't you think ;^).  

2009 is promising to be an amazing year for the Ohio Valley zone 6 gardener.  Spring arrived early and, except for an oddly-out-of-place snowy day on Thursday, Apr. 9, there has been a lovely balance of rainy and sunny, warmish days.  For the first year in a long, long time, it actually feels like a real Spring! Everything's in bloom, and my gardens are off to a strong start.

Double Rip Van Winkle Narcissus

Wendy Love Tulips

I have an oddly configured and shaded yard that makes the traditional big-rectangle vegetable garden impractical.  So, I spread my plantings over seven different plots scattered here and there, along with some container gardening on my deck.  I love the idea of landscaping with vegetables — flowers and rocks have a home in the same bed as peppers, or tomatoes, or basil, or cucumbers.  As the season progresses, you'll see this in practice in my photos :^).

I also secured a plot this year in the local community garden (below), which happily and oh-so-conveniently borders my property.  I'm running out of sun-drenched land to grow my beloved heirloom tomatoes (these things grow like crazy in good soil — last year they climbed up and over a 7 foot fence and then stretched back down to the ground.  That's 14 feet of tomato vines (and 14 feet worth of tomatoes!).  I need the elbow room.  :^)

Lots to catch you up on in the coming posts, as seed-starting is in full swing, and the Spring cool-weather vegetables are already in the ground. Stay tuned....