Most of you know that I’m in the middle of moving, from the outskirts of a medium sized metro area to the outskirts of a rather larger metro area. Yay for increased anonymity, boo for the inevitable spillover of city life.

But life doesn’t stop just because I happen to be changing locales, and that includes gardening, so I’ve assembled a collection of plants that can fit in the back seat of my car and find new homes in larger containers, or even in the ground- what a novelty, after a year of patio/balcony gardening!

It only recently occurred to me that hauling one’s garden all over the country is a bit weird. Most people don’t do that, and to be honest, I wouldn’t be so determined to do it, except that we keep moving at the exact wrong time of year; if I don’t start seeds in one house and bring them to the next house, I’d have to buy the plants already started, at ten times the cost of starting them myself, if I wanted to grow anything.

So I have the perennial herbs- rosemary, oregano, mint, chives, and thyme- in their pots. The mint and oregano have already been divided once this year, and need it again, but that’s a job for future-me. There’s also a few basil plants that I bought- heresy, I know, but I’ve never managed to start basil from seed, and it’s a must-have; it’s divine with fresh tomatoes.

Then there’s the seeds I started this year. The peppers are yellow banana and Alma paprika, and the tomatoes are Stupice and Principe Borghese- which I need to save seeds from, because I’m getting low on both varieties. Another job for future me.

There’s also the experimental carrot, which started as one of a group of seeds sown in a much larger pot. But only that carrot germinated, and I wanted the pot for something else, so I tried transplanting it. It was very unhappy for a few days, but seems to have come back to life, enough to convince me that it’s possible to transplant a carrot if it’s only a couple of weeks old, but it’s probably not advisable. Better to sow the seeds in their final location from the start.

I’ve also sown some alyssum and calendula, to bring pollinators in, but they haven’t made their appearance yet. I’ll start cucumbers once we get there- I have a fast growing variety meant for pickling, and they don’t like being transplanted. Though who knows?- people keep telling me that it’s impossible to transplant carrots, and I managed that. Sort of.

You’ll notice that most of the plants are in plastic water bottles. That’s partly deliberate- they’re less breakable than clay pots- and partly a use of available resources. The tap water in this house is terrible, so I’ve been buying bottled water, which grinds my gears but at least it doesn’t make me sick. But water bottles are made of food-safe plastic, so why not do a little recycling? A seed will germinate in almost any container that can hold a growing medium, and the tomatoes, peppers, and basil seem to be enjoying their little homes for the moment. I’ll transplant them into bigger containers once the move is complete, then get rid of the bottles- even if it’s food safe plastic, it’s still going to deteriorate in the sun, and while I don’t know that it’s safe or unsafe to keep using them, they’ve served their purpose. Same with the mint and oregano in the larger bottles.

I’ve done some tests, and yes, all of this bounty will fit in the back of my car. Barely, and I’ll have to finagle a few other things around the plants, but they’re coming with me. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have a garden, and since I’m too frazzled for writing at the moment, I’ve got to have something to keep myself grounded.

Now that spring is finally here in most parts of the world, how does your garden grow?