JUNE GARDEN CHALLENGE ... so happy to be partaking!

You don't know how excited I am to be able to participate in the June Garden Journal Challenge.
Headed into this year's growing season I was not sure how much gardening I would be able to do after having knee replacement surgery this past May 3rd. Growing enough produce to last from one year to the next requires a lot of hobbitizing. With @fram-mom becoming my 24 hour a day caregiver, her time spent gardening would also be limited.

The first three weeks after the surgery was pure hell. My entire right leg turned black and blue and was swollen to twice its normal size. Physical therapy was grueling and I was getting somewhat depressed. As the 3rd week passed I started to mend. Now, just 30 days post-op I'm able to get around without a walker and it feels great to be playing in the dirt once again!

Who needs a cane when a pitchfork is available?
Time to turn the old onion bed and get it ready for Robin to plant her beloved sunflowers.

Just a day before going under the knife I planted some cabbage, broccoli, and dill seeds.

Not knowing exactly how much gardening I would be able to do,
we decided to scale down our operation.
Last year, both levels of the window box were chocked full of seedlings.

Another thing I was able to address prior to May 3rd was to get the potatoes planted.
It's a good thing they like cold temperatures.

Preparing the potato bed took very little effort, and in a few hours 30 potato seeds were planted and blanketed with hay.

In a few week's time, they're already busting through the hay.

Two other veggies that prefer cool temperatures are beets and carrots, both of which I planted before my operation.

The bottom two pics of this college were taken just a week ago and await thinning.

From here on in, all that you see has been done over the past week. Recovery has to do as much with healing physically as it does with one's mental state. Getting outside and doing what I love to do has fostered my sense of wellbeing and independency.

Knowing that we would need to scale down the garden this year, we decided to eliminate this portion of our garden. Rather then allowing the weeds to take over, I covered this entire area with wood shavings.

One of the things that I have enjoyed the most while participating here on #hive is the sharing of ideas and information around hobbies of mine.

This past May marked my 4th year of meeting like minded people, and it's added another hobby to the game of retirement.

Here are a few things I would like to share with this wonderful community.
A BIG THANKS to @riverflows , @minismallholding,
and any other good folk that operate behind the scene,
for all of their hard work hobbitizing in making this place so enjoyable.

PEACE BE WITH YOU ALL!