Hello! Wondering everyone's thoughts on adding wood chips/mulch over my raised garden beds after planting. Is it good, bad? I covered my garlic with stuff i got from our recycling site this winter, and it seemed to work well. But not sure for normal summer veggies if that is appropriate. Any feedback would be appreciated!

This morning I went out to Sprouting North Garden and had one of those quiet moments that probably doesn’t look like much to most people… but gardeners know exactly what it means. The garlic is rising! Green shoots pushing through the soil like they’ve been waiting all winter for their chance. Months underground through cold nights, rain, frost, and patience… and now they’re here. Standing tall. Gardening has a way of reminding me that some of the best progress happens before anyone can see it. Roots form first. Strength builds first. Life moves underground first. Then one day it breaks through the surface. That garlic patch felt like a lesson this morning. Every clove planted months ago now becoming something bigger. One small act multiplied over time. Food. Future seed. Confidence. Momentum. That’s how a lot of good things are built. Quietly at first. Sprouting North Garden is waking up now. 🌱 What’s growing in your world right now, even if it hasn’t fully surfaced yet? 👇

Thought I was getting ahead this season. Had some early plants outside… then these recent storms reminded me who’s really in charge 😅 A few got beat up. Some took damage. A couple may not make the comeback tour. That’s gardening though. Sometimes you feel behind because nature changed the plan. But behind isn’t dead. Behind just means adjust, replant, learn, keep moving. Honestly, this is one reason I built the planting calculator — so when things go sideways, I can quickly regroup and know what still makes sense to start, direct sow, or replace. 🌱 Tomatoes can be restarted.🌱 Calendula doesn’t care.🌱 Chamomile probably laughed at the storm.🌱 Gardeners adapt. If storms smacked your garden around too… you’re not out of it. You’re still in the game. What got hit for you? What are you replanting? If you want to use the calculator: 👉Planting Timeline Calculator

Alright… pepper update. And uh… We had an incident. So everything was going great. Seeds popped.Plants were growing.I was feeling like a responsible plant parent. Then I made one small mistake… I trusted the grow light a little too much. Turns out… Pepper seedlings + too-close grow light = tiny plant barbecue 🔥 Yeah… I crisped a couple of them. Not full destruction… but definitely enough for them to be like: “Hey… what was that???” What happened: - Light was a little too close - Leaves started getting that “crispy edge / faded look” - A few seedlings basically said “we’re out” What I learned (the hard way): - Peppers are tough… but not THAT tough 😂 - Light distance matters - “More light” is NOT always better The good news: Most of them are still doing great 🙌 And honestly? This is part of it. You don’t learn gardening by doing everything right… You learn it by slightly roasting your plants and adjusting 😅 Current setup changes: - Raised the light a bit - Keeping a closer eye on leaf color - Letting them recover instead of panicking Real talk: Nobody posts this part. But this is the part that actually makes you better. So if you’ve ever: - Overwatered - Burned plants - Forgotten something Congrats. You’re officially a gardener. If anyone else has accidentally cooked their seedlings before… Please tell me I’m not alone 😂🔥

Alright… quick sweet potato update. And before anyone says anything… Yes. I meant for this to happen 😄 I didn’t put these in jars to “try it out.” I put them in there because I wanted as many slips as possible when planting time hits. And right now? Mission accomplished. We’ve got: * Slips popping out everywhere 🌱 * Roots going absolutely wild in the jars * Leaves stacking on top of each other like they’re racing This isn’t a sweet potato anymore. This is a slip production system. The strategy: Instead of starting a few plants… I figured: Why not turn each potato into a whole line-up? More slips = more plants More plants = more harvest More harvest = more food (and maybe a little bragging 😏) The part I love about this: There’s something really satisfying about seeing it work exactly how you planned. No fancy setup. No complicated system. Just: * Water * Time * Letting the plant do its thing And sweet potatoes? They don’t hold back. Current situation: I’m basically farming plants… before they even hit soil 😂 Soon I’ll be: * Snipping slips * Rooting them * Getting them ready for the garden And when planting time comes… We’re not starting small. Real talk: If you’ve never done this before… This is one of the easiest ways to multiply your garden fast. You start with one potato… And end up with a whole army. And honestly? That was the goal all along