A lot needs to happen between now and harvest time, of course. Weeding, for instance. Now that the garden bed is rich with compost and starting to sprout, weeds have begun to thrive in there too. I don’t mind signs of life in all shapes and sizes—they mean things are going well in the soil, right? But I insist my plants get first dibs on all that goodness, so in between my morning and evening watering sessions I’ve spent some time sweating in the afternoon sun, pulling weeds and checking for new growth. (So far we’re up to three corn shoots, three squash seedlings, and as of last night a pumpkin sprout.)