I am deep in the part of my gardening year where I am SUPER excited… and also starting to wonder if maybe I did too much.

If you garden, you know this feeling.

January and February are all hope and seed packets and plans. Everything feels possible. And then suddenly your dining room table is covered in milk cartons and seed trays and you’re counting how many varieties of peppers you started and thinking, “Oh dear.”

But here’s something I’ve learned in my still-limited gardening experience: I would rather feel like I did too much than look back in July and wish I had done more.

Because once the moment passes for the year, it’s often too late to go back and start over. You have a small window to restart your pepper plants if they didn’t germinate — but not much time. If you miss it, you miss it. There’s no rewinding the growing season.

So this year I’m operating off one big question: What do I want my harvest to look like come mid-summer?

Not what feels easy in February.
Not what feels manageable in the moment.
But what will bless our family in July, August, and September.

Right now, it feels like a lot to take on and juggle. But I also know that 2027 Jami is going to GREATLY thank me for the work I’m putting in today as I establish a brand new garden at our new house.

What We’ve Started So Far

This year I’m leaning hard into what we already have and what costs the least.

In milk cartons (because they’re free and we go through 4–6 gallons of milk per week 😅):

• Utah Celery

• Chives

• Peppermint

• Peppers: Anaheim chili, small red chili, cayenne, early jalapeño, and sweet pickle

• Rosemary

Are milk cartons glamorous? No.

Are they free and surprisingly effective? Yes.

And when you’re growing this much, free matters.

In my cell trays, I just started yesterday:

• Pink Chinese celery

• White Creole onions

• Wild bergamot

• Bee balm (Spielarten mix)

• Stevia

• Agastache

• Echinacea

• Garden huckleberries

• Blackberry huckleberries

• Tresca strawberries

• Tomatoes: San Marzano, Caribe, and Chadwick cherry

• Yarrow

• Cauliflower

Every time I look at the trays I feel that little spark of excitement. Tiny green starts are such a picture of hope. It’s wild to think that in just a few months these fragile little seedlings could be towering tomato plants and baskets of strawberries.

This week I still need to:

• Direct sow cilantro

• Direct sow broccoli

At our new house, we have one raised bed that’s ready to go, so I can at least start there while we get the rest of the garden prepped.

And that brings me to the big project…

The Lasagna Garden (a.k.a. The Cardboard Situation)

This year, because of cost and because of how large I want this garden to be, we decided not to do raised beds.

For the first time, we’re trying a lasagna garden.

We started by laying down cardboard to smother the grass and build up from there. I thought we had plenty of cardboard.

We did not.

Not even close.

We didn’t even have half of what we need. So now we’re collecting more cardboard, asking friends, saving every box, and picking up soil this weekend to start building the rows.

Right now?

It looks like a mess.

Truly. It looks like we just dumped recycling all over the yard. But I’m trusting the process. I’m reminding myself that most worthwhile things look unimpressive at the beginning.

I’m hoping that in a few weeks it starts to actually resemble a garden.

My Tasks for Next Week in the Garden

Because February energy is high and if I don’t write this down, I will absolutely forget something 😅

Here’s what’s on the agenda for next week:

• Start my next round of seeds

• Direct sow everything I need to in my one raised bed outside

• Finish laying down the cardboard

• Have Jason pick up a soil/compost mix on Saturday with his truck

• Lay down the soil and start forming the rows

• Hope we get a truckload of wood chips from ChipDrop.com soon

If not… I’ll probably add the $20 tip and see if that helps move us up the list.

Once the soil is down and the wood chips (hopefully!) arrive, the beds should finally start looking like an actual garden instead of a recycling center. And I think that will make everything feel more manageable. There’s something about structure and visible progress that calms the overwhelm.

At that point, we’ll be in such a good place: beds prepped, seeds started, direct sowing underway. That’s when it really begins to feel real.

A Little Deck Garden, Too

I also have this little side mission: I want to create a small container garden on our deck.

I’ve been hunting for large containers that are cheap or repurposable. I refuse to pay full price for giant planters if I can help it. So I’m scanning Facebook Marketplace, keeping an eye out at thrift stores, and mentally cataloging anything that could hold soil.

Half the fun of gardening on a budget is the creativity.

Can it hold dirt?
Does it drain?
Will it survive the summer heat?

Then it’s probably usable.

I love the idea of stepping out onto the deck and snipping herbs or grabbing a handful of flowers outside the kitchen door. It feels practical and beautiful at the same time.

February feels ambitious.

But it also feels hopeful.

And I’d much rather stand in the middle of “maybe I did too much” than sit in July wishing I had tried harder when the window was open.

We plant in faith.
We prepare in faith.
And we trust that the small work of today will bless our family in the months (and even years) ahead.

Here’s to cardboard chaos, milk cartons, and big garden dreams. 🌱