It is still winter, I know. However in this time of darkness I can't help but think about things green and growing. For me, this means gardening. Yep, I think about the garden all year long. And now is time when I read, plan and dream. My motto would probably be something like "bigger than last year". Seems like a good idea to review last years garden before planning the next one.
Things I already knew but learned again:
- Don't crowd the onions. I told myself I would thin while they were young and tender but this never happened and in the end they suffered. And get them out of the garden when the tops fall over. Not months later when a frost threatens.
- Tomatoes are crazy jungle plants. They will outgrow normal cages and shade any plant unfortunate enough to be planted to the north of them. Give up, Nerissa, and just give one entire box over to the tomatoes and build serious cages a before the the plants start to topple over.
- Lettuce can't stand too much heat and has a very shallow root systems. They couldn't handle the summer here. Maybe try to plant them in a shadier spot during the heat of summer or just let them be a spring and fall thing.
- Speaking of too much sun, those poor squashes. Planted them in containers on the south side of the house. They have shallow root systems and couldn't handle my (lack of) watering system. So definitely in the ground next year, without a wall to reflect all that heat back ot them. Maybe even a touch of shade? Hmmm... Where to put the poor squashes next year?
- New plants need time to get established. They must be watered more when new. I'm so sorry rhubarb that I failed to water enough. Or maybe it was the ants. Yes, I'll blame the ants.
- It takes a lot of basil plants to make pesto. One or two will not do.
- Plant the winter garden earlier than November: kale, ruttabagas, hmm... What else? And don't wait until the last minute to find garlic. Seriously, with all the time I spend planning you might assume I'm on top of this kind of thing but , no.
- Melons take a long time to reach ripeness. I planted five plants this year. Only one produced fruit but before it ripened my evil dinosaur decendents got to it.
- Chickens are destructive. So terribly, stupidly, obnoxiously destructive. They must be kept away from everything I want to eat. Except the sage. That seems safe, so far.
Ideas for next year:
- Greeen bean teepee in the front yard. Actually a bunch of things out front: basil, rhubarb, kale, beans, marjoram. This list will likely get longer.
- Brussel sprouts! I've never tried to grow them and I don't really cook with them but I'm going for it anyway. I hear they will hang around way past the first freeze. I plan to eat some at Thanksgiving. Maybe I'm getting too far ahead of myself with that one.
- Chicken fences. I have branches laying around waiting for a purpose now I just have to do it. Around everything. Ugh.
- Find some way to make melons work. Maybe start them inside then move them outside but cover at night. Baby them all the time.
- Start more things myself. I usually start tomatoes but next year I want to try peppers, flowers and maybe onions, too. And maybe more than one kind of onion. I hear there are types that store better than others.
So far that's all I've got. But the reading continues so the plan will likely evolve. I'm reading 'the edible front yard' right now so we'll see what comes from that. It's surprising how many things are edible. It seems there are a ton of flowers one can put into a salad. Plus bees need flowers to make honey. Yep, still bee dreaming.
No comments:
Post a Comment