New Beginnings

Spring promises of things to come.  It is around the corner here and with spring comes new chances.  Gardeners are an optimistic bunch.  Every year brings new hope with every seed that sprouts.  We tell ourselves that this will be the year that the garden grows lush and productive.  We will remember to do our succession planting.  We will stay on top of weeding and harvesting!  We’ve spent the cold months plotting and planning and dreaming and now it is time to get out there and make the garden grow!

Of course, there will be challenges, there are always challenges.  But each year the challenges are a little bit less insurmountable. Every year I learn a little bit more about how to successfully grow food in my corner of the world.  Every season will be slightly different.  Some years the rains come until fungi grow better than plants.  In other years, the rain is sparse and the sun is intense and the plants bake.   Gardening is never dull or predictable.  You learn to adapt and do the best you can to the changing conditions. 

Every year I like to try to grow something new.  This year I’m trying some new veggies: celery and mustard, which are completely not adapted to my climate, but that’s why they are a challenge.  Both grow best in cool weather, which we tend to avoid.  It seems our weather is either cold, warm or hot!  I’m hoping if it’s too hot here to successfully grow mustard and celery that they will at least bolt and produce seeds.  I use both of their seeds in pickling banana peppers and in some dishes.  If I end up with plenty of mustard seeds, then I can always make some mustard.  I’ve already started both celery and mustard for spring planting, but if they do not grow well in the spring I may try again in the fall.

In the herb bed, I want to add ginger and turmeric.  There’s a farm not too far from here that sells rhizomes of these and has detailed instructions about how to grow them.  Both are tropical plants, so they are not hardy here.  They require a long growing season and need to be pre-sprouted inside to ensure enough growth to get harvests before the first frost.  I use ginger and turmeric often for curries, so it’ll be nice to have some fresh flavors from the garden.

For permanent additions to my garden, I’m putting in a new bed that will hold asparagus and some perennial onions.  I’ve ordered fifty asparagus crowns: Half Jersey Knight and half Jersey Supreme.  I’ve been wanting to get asparagus planted for a few years and this is the year.  The bed is ready and my crowns should arrive Friday!  It’ll be a few years before I get to enjoy a bounty from my asparagus bed, but I’m sure it is worth the wait.  The rest of the bed will be devoted to perennial onions.  These will be planted in the fall, so I haven’t settled on what I’m planting yet.  So far I’m thinking of Egyptian walking onions and potato onions. 

Another big change for my garden this year is that it has officially become a no-till garden.    I am going into my fourth year at this garden and since I plant directly in the ground, tilling was necessary to break up the soil and turn up the never ending supply of rocks.  Tilling, however, has some negative consequences.  The soil where I live has a considerable amount of clay, so tiling can cause compaction.  Tilling also leads to increased soil erosion and I am especially concerned about this since my garden has a significant slope to it.  Tiling also breaks up the natural soil structure and the ecosystem of organisms.  I’m a bit concerned about whether weeds will be worse without tilling and whether some pests will be able to overwinter and survive better in my untilled garden.  I think in the long run no-till will make the soil healthier, but I may encounter some speed bumps along the way.  I added compost to the beds and instead of tiling; I added plenty of water and covered them with black plastic.  I am hoping this will kill any weeds in the beds and add some warmth to the soil to allow for decomposition. 

For me, gardening is constant experiment.  I’m hoping 2017 will bring some new harvests along with an abundance of my favorites.

Are you trying new things in the garden this year?

Garden Goals 2016

I have so many dreams about what we can do with our land.  I envision creating a beautiful and productive place that nurtures us and the environment.  Of course dreams are wonderful, but to make them happen, we have to actually make plans and implement them.  I love making lists and that is the first step.  So here are my gardening goals for 2016 to get us closer to that vision in my mind:

·         Plant an orchard: This year my goal is to get fruit trees planted and off to a good start.  We currently have three apple trees and would like to add three pears, two more apples, four peaches and two plums.  I am also considering a persimmon and a fig for the orchard as well.  I have spent countless hours researching varieties.  I want to grow fruit organically, which according to what I have read, may be difficult in my zone due to the high humidity and diversity of pests.  My first line of defense is to select varieties that are disease resistant and adapted to my climate.  I hope this will make producing fruit a little bit easier.

·         Plant wildflowers in orchard:  I know it will be many, many years before my fruit trees will flower and hopefully bear fruit.  Despite this, I would like to grow wildflowers to establish an ecosystem for pollinators and beneficial insects.  I dream of a meadow filled with flowers among the fruit trees.  I know this dream may not be practical as the trees grow and cast shade, but while they are small I want to fill the area with flowers. 

·         Build and plant a strawberry and herb bed:  My current vegetable garden is only for annuals because we till the area every year.  I plant annual herbs among the vegetables, but I want a place to plant some perennial herbs and also strawberries.  I miss having deliciously ripe strawberries in the spring.  My plan is to build a bed along the back of the garden.  It will be 75 feet long and one foot wide.  To keep this planting bed affordable, we plan to collect rocks around our property to make the border.  Hopefully we will have it completed by spring so that I can fill it with strawberry plants and herbs. 

·         Make and follow my garden planner:  I love planning and organizing.  I keep my planting schedule on Evernote, but I want to have a hardcopy so that I don’t have to go onto my laptop or phone to see what I need to plant.  I may have a tendency to easily get distracted. 

·         Sell some veggies:  With my harvests last year reaching over a thousand pounds and the fact that there are only two of us, I think I can safely sell some surplus vegetables and still have plenty to eat and preserve.  Everyone keeps telling me to sell at the farmer’s market and I’m sure that’s a great way to sell produce, but I really like my Saturday mornings.  The thought of getting up before the sun rises every Saturday to sell veggies does not make me happy.  I want to figure out ways to make a little bit of money from my extra veggies while keeping my Saturday mornings for sleeping in and gardening.  I’m thinking that selling to co-workers would be a good option.  I don’t plan on making much money, just enough to help offset the cost of seeds, compost and mulch and help support my gardening addiction!

·         Save more seeds:  Another effort to cut back on gardening costs is more seed saving.  I’ve saved seeds for easy vegetables like peas and beans, but I want to expand my ability to save seeds from most of my vegetables.  I went through my list of varieties and found that all but ten are open-pollinated.  I need to research methods for different types of vegetables and then hopefully save most of my seeds.

·         Make and use soil microbe spray:  I’ve been reading about growing and maintaining healthy fruit trees.  I highly recommend The Holistic Orchard by Michael Phillips, although I haven't actually harvested fruit yet.  One topic I keep coming across is the use of soil microbes to keep plants healthy and productive.  These good microbes in the soil can help protect plants from pathogenic microbes and even help the plants acquire more nutrients.  I want to try this out by making my own soil microbe spray for veggies and fruit trees. 

·         Grow a better balance of vegetables:  Even though I had a substantial harvest in 2015, I want to grow more onions, potatoes, garlic, broccoli, sweet bell peppers, carrots and peas.  I didn’t have enough of these crops while I had way too many melons and cucumbers.  I hope that over my gardening years I get better at balancing what I grow with what we want to eat.  

Those are my goals for the coming year.  I think it's going to be a busy 2016!

Growing a Thousand Pounds of Veggies

2015 was the year I finally broke the 1,000 pound mark on my harvests.  I still can't believe that I grew that much!  What I’ve learned about growing excessive amounts of produce is that it is a lot of work to grow, harvest, cook and preserve a thousand pounds.  In the end I’ve learned that gardening is not all about the number of pounds, but before divulging into lessons learned, I'd like explain how I got to such large harvests.

Here’s how I grow lots of veggies:

1.  Utilize as many seasons as possible.  I plant overwintering crops such as spinach, kale, onions and carrots.  Then I plant early spring crops that are fast growing such as lettuce and radish followed by summer crops.  In late summer I plant beans, carrots, turnips, peas and other fall crops.
2. Succession planting keeps the harvest coming.  I have plenty of pests in my garden, so I am constantly planting.  I start summer squash seeds inside every three weeks.  That way I have seedlings ready to transplant in case I lose plants to vine borers or squash bugs. 
3.  Maximize space with close plantings.  I use square foot spacing for most crops, which helps to reduce weeds and increase the number of plants you can squeeze into a bed.
4. Harvest often.  When you harvest crops such as beans and squash, they keep producing. 
5. Invest time and money into your soil.  Gardening always starts with quality soil with plenty of organic matter and nutrients.  I add compost and mulch every year. 

My garden has about 1,700 square feet of planting beds.  I don’t think that this is the maximum amount I can grow in that space.  I devote some of the space to growing flowers for pollinators and just because they are pretty. I also plant annual herbs such as basil, cilantro, dill and parsley among the vegetables.

Reaching a thousand pounds was a goal of mine, but as with any goal the lessons you learn in the process are more important than getting to check it off the list.  If it was just about the weight of harvests, I could plant my entire garden in sweet potatoes and blow my record out of the park. 

But there are only so many sweet potato pies a person can eat!

Here’s a breakdown of my harvests:

	lbs
Broccoli	8.68
Turnip	1.31
Lettuce	6.14
Carrot	15.68
Kale	2.90
Spinach	1.62
Chard	15.91
Amaranth	2.83
Peas	5.97
Onions	3.21
Summer squash	35.97
Green beans	54.49
Cucumbers	105.34
Soybeans	9.06
Tomatoes	202.66
Eggplant	32.59
Peppers	68.76
Corn	26.95
Winter squash	50.96
Melon	259.39
Beets	3.29
Cowpeas	4.45
Cabbage	4.81
Sweet potatoes	172.51
Radish	0.23
Total	1095.69

Too Much of a Good Thing

I’ve learned that I don’t want or need 105 lbs of cucumbers.  I have forty jars of pickles in my pantry.  Everyone I know has received Christmas pickles.  I also don’t need so many melons.  I do love melons and can easily eat an entire cantaloupe in one sitting on a summer afternoon.  However, it can get old after a few weeks.  Another lesson I learned is not to eat half a watermelon before going to the airport and getting on a three hour flight sitting in a window seat. 

The Right Amount

I, however, do not think that 200 lbs of tomatoes is too many.  I love roasted tomato sauce and made batch after batch during the growing season.  I will find out if my supply will make it until the first tomatoes of 2016.  I was overwhelmed with the amount of green beans during the summer, but I’m content with the amount I have frozen.  I have enough to eat them weekly until next summer.

Not Enough

Despite having a thousand pounds of harvests, there were some crops I would like more.  I want to grow enough leafy greens to eat them daily.  Swiss chard was the most productive green, but I would like more diversity of greens.  I did not have much luck with onions last year and would definitely like to grow more.  All those batches of tomato sauce require onions.  I love broccoli and sweet bell peppers and it seems I never have enough of them.  Also on the more list is carrots and peas- enough to freeze would be great.  I didn’t get to plant potatoes or garlic last year, so they are in the not enough category as well.

New Goals

I will continue to weigh my harvests.  I like knowing how much I grow and how much I use.  I never would imagine that I harvested a thousand pounds last year if I hadn't weighed everything.  Instead of aiming for an overall weight goal, I want to focus on growing a better balance of vegetables.  Less cucumbers and melons with more greens, onions, garlic, broccoli, peppers, carrots, peas and potatoes.  The best strategy is to grow what you eat.

March Gardening Goals

Rain, rain, and more rain is all that seems to be happening here.  I did finally see the sun right before the sun set!  At least we just had rain and no sleet, snow, or ice.  The weekend weather is looking much nicer and hopefully it will dry out the soggy garden a bit.  I hope so, because I have so much to do this time of year!  Here's what I need to get done in March here in zone 7 (SC):

1. Put up deer fence:  This is my number one priority for the garden this year.  Last year the deer treated my garden as their own personal buffet, so I really hope it keeps them out this year. 
2. Make gate for fence:  Well, the fence isn't going to be too functional if it doesn't have a gate, so this is priority number two.
3. Form beds:  The garden is tilled with manure mixed in, but I still need to smooth out the paths and pile up the beds.  I've finished almost two of the nine rows.
4. Lay weed cloth:  With the size of my garden, I'm going to need all the help I can get in upkeep.  I am investing in weed cloth to cover the paths, so that my weeding can be isolated to the beds.
5. Add straw mulch on top of weed cloth for paths.
6. Start broccoli seeds inside. 
7. Start a few more tomato and eggplant seeds inside.
8. Set up watering system:  This is another plan to keep maintenance as low as possible.  I already have the drip hose, valves, and timer from my previous garden, so it should be fairly cheap to set-up.
9. Plant potatoes, spinach, onions, kale, lettuce, radish, turnips, peas, carrots, and chard outside.
10. Plant herb seeds outside: parsley, cilantro, dill
11. Transplant cabbage.

Looks like I have a busy month ahead of me!  Happy spring :)

Revisiting June Garden Goals

June was really, really hot with very little rain.  I'm surprised the garden is still surviving.  The heat sure did put a damper in my garden productivity, so I'm glad the veggies are making up for my lack of productivity. 

• Plant seeds outside: I planted an extra bed of carrots and bush beans.  The carrots didn't have the best germination rate.  I was a bit of a slacker keeping the area moist with all the heat.  I also planted a second crop of potatoes.  I didn't really have the space available, so I only planted a few. 
• Plant seeds inside: I started onion, leeks, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and head lettuce.  I also started some replacement cucumbers. 
  
• Weeding: I've weeded some, but I've been a bit of a slacker in the heat.  I was hoping the heat would take out some of the weeds, but no they seem to be thriving. 
  
• Pest patrol:  The battle with the squash bugs, vine borers, Japanese beetles, and hornworms continues.  
• Mulch the rest of the beds. Well, I did some, but not all.
• Bench in the woods: So, I want a cozy outdoor daybed with a mosquito net canopy.  I did find a daybed on Craigslist.  However, I still need to spray paint it, get a mattress and make a waterproof cover.  I've had little motivation for this project because it is way too hot to relax outside. 
• Start installing a watering system: I have pipes running to each bed in the front terrace of the garden.  I'm not going to be able to run emitter lines until fall because the beds are too overgrown with veggies right now. I will posted the project soon.
• Start on the pea gravel garden paths:  I've dug up all the paths in the front terrace except one side of the melon bed because they've invaded the path.  The next step is to put down weed cloth, some sand, and pea gravel.  The hot, humid weather is not cooperating with this project, so it may take a bit longer.

Here's how the garden is looking:

Revisiting June Garden Goals

We're halfway through June, so perhaps I should post my June garden goals...

• Plant seeds outside: carrots and bush beans and I might plant a second round of corn.  I didn't have very good germination rates with my corn and now the potato bed is available.
• Plant seeds inside:  It's already time to start some fall crops indoors!  I'm not sure how these cool weather crops are going to do in a toasty potting shed.  I guess I will find out.  This month I need to start onion, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and head lettuce.
• Weeding: A never ending story!
• Pest patrol:  Try to keep the squash bugs, vine borers, and Japanese beetles under control along with any other pests I run encounter.
• Mulch the rest of the beds. 
• Bench in the woods: What should be simple: buy bench and put in the woods, I've made complicated.  I've decided I want a cozy outdoor daybed with a mosquito net canopy.  Unfortunately outdoor daybeds are expensive, so there's going to be some diy involved in this project.
• Start installing a watering system: As summer arrives and watering becomes more and more important, I really want a drip irrigation system. 
• Start on the pea gravel garden paths:  This goes with the watering system.  To install the watering system I will have to dig up the garden paths, so when I fill them in I want weed-free gravel paths.

Revisiting May Garden Goals

I never actually posted garden goals for May, so this means I get to list what I did and I will never know what I should have done ;)

• Plant sweet potatoes: After constantly asking the Farmer's Exchange when the sweet potatoes come in, they arrived mid May.  The sweet potato slips were tied up into bundles and when I inquired about how many were in a bundle.  The answer: about 100!  I don't have room for a hundred sweet potato slips! I was thinking about ten since this is my first attempt growing them.  We then went hunting for packs of nine that were potted, but were never found.  After following people around for about 30 minutes in the search for potted sweet potatoes, they finally ended up breaking up one of the bundles of 100 for my tiny ten slips.  Then they didn't even charge me for them!  So if I don't get a single sweet potato I will have lost no money. 
• Plant seeds: corn, peanuts, carrots, lettuce, inside: cabbage and Chinese cabbage.  You may remember last month I had cutworm problems with my corn, so I had to make collars and they did much, much better.

• Plant herbs: dill, sage, lemongrass.  I did not get ginger started this year.  Oh well, guess I'll try next spring.
• Weeding!: Right now the garden is surprisingly weed free.  Nothing like visits from some garden loving friends to inspire me to weed.  Now if only I can keep up the weedless look!
• Mulch: I've used straw to mulch some of the beds.  I need to get more and mulch more.  It looks like it is going to be a hot and dry summer, so the more mulch the better.
• Finish plant labels: You can check out the plant label project here.

• Paint potting shed shelves
• Make potting shed burlap skirt- the inside of the potting shed is all done now.  I will posted photos of it soon.

Revisiting April Goals

April was a crazy, busy month!  School was hectic, the garden was demanding attention, and my living room looked like this:

The couches are in the kitchen, the kitchen table is in the garage, and I don't function too well with things out of order.  On top of gardening and working I've been helping with prepping and installing the new wood floors.  I will be excited when it is all done, but not the best timing to remodel during peak gardening time!

Anyway, back to what did and did not get done this month:

1. Make plant labels - I seem to have run into a road block with this project.  It was suppose to be simple: buy some shims, some chalkboard paint, paint shims, and get a white china marker to write on my lovely new labels.  It appears that this last step is more difficult than I thought.  I can't seem to find a white china marker around here.  I can order them on-line but it seemed ridiculous to pay more in shipping than the markers cost.  This weekend I'll be in Charlotte and I'll stop by some art stores, so hopefully I can finish this project and get my plants labeled.
2. Plant sweet potatoes - I wanted to do this, but every time I went to the Farmer's Exchange they told me they didn't have sweet potatoes in yet.  They said to come back the second week of May.  It seems late to me, but I guess I should trust farmers since they have much more sweet potato experience than me.
3. Plant seeds outside: peanuts, beans, corn, beets, carrots, radish, swiss chard, sunflowers, marigolds, nasturiums, yarrow, borage.. I planted everything except the peanuts and I should have them in the ground this week.  However, corn is highlighted because I planted an entire bed of corn, ~60 seeds and every single one of the seedlings was toppled!  I think I just had my first cutworm experience.  Now I've got to make a bunch of cutworm collars and replant!  
4. Plant herbs: ginger, lemon grass, dill, sage, basil, chamomile.  I need to venture to the farmer's market next weekend and get the rest of the herbs to plant.  I bought some ginger root to try and sprout, but it appears shriveled and pathetic right now. 
5. Transplant: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons.  I did get all my seedlings transplanted.
6. Start woodland garden: I did start on the woodland garden-  I planted a border of azaleas and got some Virginia sweetspire to plant a border in another spot. 
7. Work on front flower bed:  To make the flower bed more appealing in the winter I planted three holly bushes and a third spiral juniper.  I got a crossvine, which is native to here and attracts hummingbirds.  It is still waiting to be planted and needs a trellis for support.  Of course the flowers are stealing the show right now and the new evergreen additions are not very prominent.  

April Gardening Goals

We are already well into April, so I guess I should get started on what needs to get done this month.  This is going to be a busy month in the garden and also at work.  I'm going to stick to the essentials, which is getting the seeds and seedlings in the ground.  All those gardening projects are going to have to wait for when I have more time! (17 work days until summer break.. not that I'm counting ;)

1. Make plant labels - ok, so this is the one project I need to do so that I can label everything as I plant.
2. Plant sweet potatoes - This is my first year trying sweet potatoes.  I'm going to try to grow them with my corn and see how that goes.
3. Plant seeds outside: peanuts, beans, corn, beets, carrots, radish, swiss chard, sunflowers, marigolds, nasturiums, yarrow, borage 
4. Plant herbs: ginger, lemon grass, dill, sage, basil, chamomile
5. Transplant: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons
6. Start woodland garden:  There's a shady spot in the front yard that I want to convert to a woodland garden.  This year the goal is to plant some shrubs and understory trees.
7. Work on front flower bed:  The flower bed looks lovely in spring, but the winter appeal is horrible.  I want to add some evergreen shrubs and maybe an evergreen vine to make it a bit less dreary in the winter.  There's also some spaces that need flowers to fill.

With all the warm weather this spring has brought, it has been tempting to set things out earlier.  Now I'm glad I didn't have the time because we have a frost advisory tonight!  My main concern is the strawberries that are already flowering and fruiting, so I covered them.  My other worry are all the flowers that have bloomed.  Keeping my fingers crossed that the frost isn't too bad.

Revisiting March Garden Goals

• Start seeds inside:  I have basil (Sweet and Big Leaf), one little lamb's ear, chamomile, cucumbers (Middle Eastern and Lemon), melons (Heart's of Gold, Congo, Sugar Baby, Banana, Honeydew), and squash (Sweet Mama Hybird, Trombocino, Hubbard) all happily growing in the potting shed.

• Plant seeds outside: Outside I have planted kale, kohlrabi, radish, turnip, spinach, beets, peas, swiss chard, carrots, and lettuce.  The only thing I haven't planted outside that it is time to plant is parsnips.  I've never grown or eaten parsnips before and I'm still debating whether to plant them.  I guess I can plant a few just to see how they do and whether I like them.

• Plant potatoes:  I planted yukon gold, red, and white kennebec potatoes this month and they are sprouting.  Next year I want to branch out and get more exciting potato varieties- like purple ones and fingerling ones.  Although they are so much more expensive they the plain varieties I get at the local farmer's exchange.

• Plant onion sets:  I was planning on growing onions from seed this year, but I had mass causalities from the combination of the heat mats and upper 80 degree days.  So I got some onion sets and planted them this month.

• Transplant seedlings:  I transplanted Chinese cabbage, pac choi, head lettuce, a few broccoli and two cauliflower to the garden.  Something has been munching away at the pac choi and cabbage leaves.  Several seedlings are now leafless!

• Prep beds for planting:  I've been doing this as I plant.  I did cut the cover crops, but the wheat and the rye just keep sprouting back.  I'm going to have to turn the soil to plant my seedlings in the cover crop beds otherwise they are going to get overgrown with grasses.

• Fill raspberry bed with soil:  Raspberry bed was filled with a mixture of alpaca manure, soil, and compost.

• Fill potting shed bed with soil:  This bed was much bigger than the raspberry bed, so we got a garden soil mix at a local landscape place.

• Planting templates:  I made square foot gardening planting templates and you can read about the project here.  They are very convenient and make planting much quicker.  However, I'm not sure how durable these are going to be and I may end up making wood ones for next year.  

• Plant raspberries:  Raspberries are planted!  They look like a row of five sticks right now, but hopefully they will grow and make lots of yummy raspberries.  The variety I planted was Caroline, which is suppose to do better in our hot climate.

• Plant grapes:  I planted two Reliance grapes- one on each side of the arbor in the garden.  They also look like pathetic sticks right now.

• Plant asparagus:  I planted 13 asparagus crowns.  You can read about how I planted them here.  All of the crowns have sent up stems.  I wish I could harvest and eat some this year!

•  Get and plant blueberries:  I got two blueberry bushes- a Georgia Gem and a Powerblue.  They are planted behind the garden, which I discovered is just out of hose reach!  I may get another one or two bushes, but maybe not this year.

• Paint potting shed shelves:  Well, this didn't happen this month- too many things to plant to worry about potting shed shelves! 

• Make plant labels:  I did start this, but I'm not quite finished.  Next month!

Spring has definitely arrived with all the garden activity this month!  Things are going to remain busy through April and probably May too.  It's a lot of work, but I just love spring!

March Garden Goals

March is going to be a busy month in the garden.  Spring is right around the corner and there is a lot to get ready and plant this month.

1. Start seeds inside: basil, lamb's ear, chamomile, leaf lettuce, cucumbers, melons, pumpkin, squash
2. Plant seeds outside: kale, kohlrabi, radish, turnip, spinach, beet, peas, Swiss chard, carrots, parsnips
3. Plant potatoes
4. Plant onion sets
5. Transplant seedlings: leeks, parsley, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, head lettuce
6. Prep beds for planting
7. Fill raspberry bed with soil
8. Fill potting shed bed with soil
9. Planting templates: I use the square foot garden spacing for my raised beds and I saw Chiot's Run blog about how to make templates.  I want to make some templates, I think it will make planting easier and quicker.
10. Plant raspberries
11. Plant grapes
12. Plant asparagus
13. Get and plant blueberries
14. Paint potting shed shelves
15. Make plant labels:  With all the planting I will be doing, I really need some new plant labels.

Here's how the potting shed and part of the garden is looking at the beginning of March.  The cover crops did really well.  I'm planning on cutting them down close to the soil, but not pulling up the roots.  I've read that leaving roots helps with providing nutrients and building soil structure.  Then I will use the clippings as mulch around the spring plantings.

Revisiting February Garden Goals

Remember how productive I was in January?  Well, keep that in mind as I recap my Feb garden goals. 

1. Start seeds inside: broccoli, cauliflower, onion, leeks, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, parsley, celery, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes are all started.  I've had a learning curve with my new heat mats that resulted in some seedling causalities.  We've had some really warm days and without a thermostat I cooked the seedlings!  Next year I need a thermostat.
2. Starting seeds outside: I planted some peas and spinach this month
3. Harden off: Well, I would have done this, but the leeks, onions, and parsley that should have started getting use to outdoor weather were cooked by the heat mat.
4. Clean up beds: This seems like a never ending project, but I did do a bit of weeding this month.
5. Build raspberry bed: I did build a 8'x2' bed for the raspberries and it is in the ground, but not filled with soil and manure yet.
6. Prettify the potting shed: This was partially done.  We put up the lattice around the shed's foundation.  However, I didn't finish painting the shelves (ran out of paint), make the workbench skirt, or make a window box.
7. Finish potting shed bed: I need to get some topsoil and mix in manure to get the new bed ready for planting. This didn't happen.  Part of the problem was the brakes on the truck decided to stop working!  They are fixed now, so hopefully this will happen in March.
8. Make a bee mason house: I did make this and I will post the project and pictures very soon.
9. Start on the path to the garden: Well, the only thing I can say I did was use a hose to outline where I want the path.  No digging has happened yet.
10. Clean garden tools: I didn't get to this last month, so maybe Feb March will be the time to do it. 

After I went through my list, it wasn't as bad as I thought.  Despite the broken truck, going out of town, and a shorter month I didn't do too shabby in February.

February Garden Goals

Winter has been a bit busier than I expected.  I'm still hoping for a snow day, but with the extremely mild temperatures we've had this winter it's not looking possible.  This month is going to be all about preparing for spring.  However, I need to keep working on that ambitious 2012 project list.

1. Start seeds inside: broccoli, cauliflower, onion, leeks, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, parsley, celery, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes are on the list for Feb.
2. Starting seeds outside: peas and spinach
3. Harden off: leeks, onions, and parsley
4. Clean up beds: get the beds ready for spring planting, those winter annuals have enjoyed the mild temperatures a bit too much!
5. Build raspberry beds: I wasn't sure if I was going to plant raspberries this year, but I ended up ordering them with my asparagus order.  Why pay multiple shipping charges?  However, this means I've got to make a bed for them before they arrive in the spring.
6. Prettify the potting shed: paint shelves, make workbench skirt, install trellis around foundation of shed and maybe even make a windowbox.
7. Finish potting shed bed: I need to get some topsoil and mix in manure to get the new bed ready for planting.  It's a shady spot so I was originally planning for shade flowers, but now I want to squeeze in some veggies like lettuce, peas, cabbage that will hopefully appreciate some shade.
8. Make a bee mason house: I'm trying to make my garden more friendly to wildlife and attract pollinators.
9. Start on the path to the garden: This is going to be a digging project that may take awhile, maybe if I start it now I'll finish before the year ends!  
10. Clean garden tools: I didn't get to this last month, so maybe Feb will be the time to do it.

Well see if February is going to be as productivity as January. 

Happy February gardening!  I still can't believe I have radishes growing in Feb, crazy! 

Revisiting January Garden Goals

The first month of 2012 has already flown by and with my giant list of 2012 projects, it is time to see how I am doing.  

January Gardening Goals:

1. Finish potting shed - the shed is functional with shelves and workbench, but I do want to do some painting and make it a bit cozier.
2. Set-up my seed starting station - Baby seedlings are happily growing on the heat mats with hanging lights.
3. Start seeds! - I started broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, head lettuce, onion seed, parsley, and Chinese cabbage.
4. Build bed in front of potting shed - The bed is built!  I wasn't expecting to finish this in January.  I still need a fill the bed and then start planting in the spring, but the structure is built!  

 I also want to put something around the foundation of the shed.

Here's a side view:

1. Asparagus - I ordered my asparagus- Jersey Knight, 25 crowns.
2. Harvest and weigh winter crops -yep, I'm still thrilled about weighing harvests
3. Plan spring garden - I've mapped out where everything is going to be planted and how many seedlings I'm going to need.  Now we'll see if I stick to the plan!
4. Make seed starting journal - So far I've kept track of what I planted and when, hopefully I can keep up with this even when spring gets very busy!
5. Clean and sharpen garden tools- nope!  This will be carried over to next month.

Whew!  I'm exhausted after realizing how much I did this month.  Not a bad start to the year!

January Garden Goals

After making the huge project list for 2012, I realized that I need to break it down into smaller lists.  28 things are a bit overwhelming!  Each month I'm going to focus on two or three projects.

Gardening Goals for January:

1. Finish potting shed - we (ok, really it's Jeff and I'm the assistant) built the workbench last weekend and this weekend the goal is to build the shelves.  Then the structures will be built and it'll just be prettifying the potting shed time.
2. Set-up my seed starting station - this requires the shelves in the potting shed to be finished, but I plan to put up two 4 ft lights, heating pads, get a container to store potting soil, and get trays washed and ready.
3. Start seeds! - yes, start seeds in January. I need to start broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks (first time growing!), head lettuce, onion seed, parsley, and Chinese cabbage.
4. Build bed in front of potting shed - this is one of those 2012 projects.  I doubt I will finish this month, but I hope to get a good start. 
5. Asparagus - decide what type and how many asparagus I'm going to plant and order.  I also need to figure out where to plant them.
6. Harvest and weigh winter crops - it should be easy to keep up with the winter garden's slow pace.
7. Plan spring garden - I have the list of what I plan to grow and I've ordered seeds, however, I need to figure out where everything is going to be planted and how many seedlings I'm going to need.
8. Make seed starting journal - trying to do better at keeping data so that I can learn what works and what doesn't.
9. Clean and sharpen garden tools

Ok, need to stop before this list gets overwhelming!

Happy January gardening everyone!

Proposed Garden Projects 2012

 I have a problem with making lists... I tend to go overboard!  There are so many garden projects I would like to do and when I made my list it ended up with 28 things.  I think I need an army of garden gnomes to help me complete all of these projects!

1. Stone path to garden - I want a stepping stone and pea gravel path to my garden from the back deck.  I just need those gnomes to dig out the path for me!
2. Finish potting shed - This project should be completed within the month, all that is left to do is a workbench and shelves.
3. Set-up seed starting center - On the soon to be built workbench, I want to set-up grow lights and heating mats to start seedlings.
4. Make bed in front of potting shed - I have bricks leftover from the garden retaining walls and I want to make a bed in front of the shed.  It is a shady spot and I'm thinking of a mix of flowers like bleeding heart and columbine and some cool season crops that might enjoy the shade such as cabbage and lettuce.
5. Window box for shed  - This should be a simple project and will make the shed adorable!
6. Plant blueberry bushes - I can't wait to have fresh blueberries.  I've begun researching varieties, which you can read all about here. 
7. Plant bed of raspberries - This is a maybe project for this year, I may just focus on blueberries this year and plant raspberries next year. 
8. Make a rain garden by driveway - This is a dream project.  We really need this because when it rains the water pours down the driveway and floods the walkway to the front door.  It has even seeped into the garage when it really downpours.  Building a rain garden will require a lot of digging and digging in clay is not an easy or speed endeavor. 
9. Get shredder for mulching - My compost pile is a mess!  I really need an easy way to chopped up things like corn stalks.  We also do not have a bag for the lawn mower, so there is no easy way to mulch leaves.
10. Make a rain gauge - This should be an easy project that will help me to know how much and when to water.
11. Watering system - Another dream project, I want to bury pipes to carry water to each bed with a soaker hose system in each bed.  This will make watering easy and much more efficient.  However, I think I may have to find a second job to support the cost of all my gardening projects!  
12. Stone and pea gravel garden paths - Another digging project!  I dream of permanent paths with no weeds. 
13. Start woodland garden - Half of the backyard is wooded and we have a nice little path, but it needs woodland wildflowers. 
14. Make garden fountain -A little water feature will be a nice addition to the garden and perhaps bring more birds to the backyard.
15. Build a fire pit - Another dream project requiring lots of digging and probably lots of money.
16. Plant grapes - My garden arbor is looking empty and I think grapes will be the perfect addition.
17. Plant asparagus - I'm excited to get asparagus planted.  I just have to decide on where to plant them, how many, and what varieties.
18. Grow sweet potatoes - I've never grown sweet potatoes and want to add them to my garden, the only problem is where to put them!
19. Plant more flowers and shrubs in front bed - I took out several large shrubs from the front bed that were overgrown and now it seems empty and sad.  I'm thinking of adding some dwarf azaleas and I want lamb's ears that I can pet on the way to the front door!
20. Mailbox garden - The mailbox is surrounded by boring grass, so I want to dress it up with a border and some flowers.  These flowers are going to have to be able to tolerate brutal summers because I doubt I will tow water up to the mailbox very often.
21. Bench for woods - A bench is needed as is part of my woodland garden design.  It will be a nice place to sit in the shade and admire the soon-to-be woodland garden.
22. Make canning labels - I've seen some adorable canning labels online and I want to make one using a picture of my garden.
23. Learn to use a pressure canner - I received a pressure canner for my birthday and the instructions completely intimidated me, so I want to take a class on how to pressure can.  I took a similar class for water bath canning last year, which was my first year of canning.
24. Make platform bird feeder - I keep telling myself to make my yard more welcoming for feathered friends, but I never seem to get around to hanging up feeders.  I want to make a platform feeder to attach to the deck with the added benefit of hopefully getting some good photos.
25. Add a bee mason house to garden - This is another goal focusing on encouraging wildlife to visit (and pollinate) my garden plants.
26. Mirrors for fence - The back of my garden is up against a tall wooden fence and unfortunately it is on the south side, so it creates too much shade.  I'm going to try hanging mirrors on the fence to reflect some light.  I'm thinking of getting old window frames and adding mirrored tiles.
27. Put weathervane on potting shed - I saw an adorable black lab weathervane that would add to the adorableness of the potting shed.
28. Plant labels - I currently use little plastic labels that I write on, but the words become unreadable in a few weeks.  I would like more durable labels.  I saw this project about making copper ones that I love. 

Am I ambitious?  Definitely!  Am I delusional?  Probably!  I know I will not have the time or money to complete all of these projects in 2012.  I say if one gets done each month, then I will be happy.  Plus I will never be bored with nothing to do in 2012!

A Weighty New Year's Resolution

It's that time of year to reflect on the past year and decide how to improve the coming year.  2011 has been a busy year in my garden.

I went from my garden looking like this in 2010:

 

To this in 2011:

You can read about the transformation here.  2011 was a good and productive year in the garden.  Productive for building and structures, but for actual veggies and harvest the truth is I do not know.  There was a ton of cucumbers and not a lot of peppers.  This lack of data has led me to make my 2012 garden resolution: WEIGH HARVESTS.  In comparison to building retaining walls, trellises, and raised beds, this should be a manageable resolution.  Currently I have a simple little scale:

 

However, I would like a digital scale, especially for weighing light crops like lettuce.   I have my eye on this Ozeri scale.  Not expensive, and would make my resolution more accurate.

I would also love to have a hanging produce scale like this Detecto one:

 

However, it is a bit more expensive.  It'll have to go on my garden wish list for the time being.  Hopefully by this time next year, I will be able to tell you how many pounds of veggies I harvested!  

Do you have any resolutions for your garden this year?