New Year Around the Garden

Happy New Year! This is the off season in the garden and you can see my garden lies cold and bare, filled with potential for coming seasons.


Obviously we don't have any snow right now, but the temperatures are hovering around 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Our strawberries have some green still showing and it looks like this sage is still alive.


The blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry bushes are bare and will be trimmed back in the spring.


Even our compost bin has slowed down its work. It is full to the top and, as you can see, our one maple tree in the front yard supplied more leaves than we could fit into the bin. I'm saving them to add to the compost bin whenever there is room.


In the meantime, I am inside and starting to think about next summer's garden. I've decided there are some things I will definitely plant again: sweet potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes (hopefully adding a few new varieties). There are some that I don't want to plant again: pumpkin, spaghetti squash, and potatoes. I'm on the fence about zucchini. I can't decide if it was worth the effort. The bugs were a pain to deal with, but I did get a good harvest before the squash vine borer destroyed my plants. I'll probably do the salad veggies again although I've tried spinach twice and just can't get it to grow. I probably won't try it again. I also don't know if I'm up to the challenge of onions yet.

New things I want to try this year include sweet corn, pole beans, and beets. I've considered growing one Brussels sprout plant. I grew one about 13 years ago when we were young and had a community garden plot. I'm the only one in my family who likes them and they take up so much space. But they are my favorite veggie so I am undecided. I also plan to incorporate some flowers in the garden this year. I want to attract the beneficial insects and pollinators that I've learned I need for a successful garden.

Now is the time to browse catalogs and read gardening info online. I still rave about Garden Web. I'm browsing online catalogs like Seeds of Change and, of course, Burpee. And since the paper magazines don't come out often enough to suit me, I look at their websites. For example, there is Mother Earth News and Organic Gardening.

So many plants to consider...

Local weather:
High temp: 36 F (feels like 26 F)
Low temp: 26 F (feels like 19 F)
50% chance of snow showers

Prepping the beds

I've been busy with work since I last posted, but things have been moving right along with the garden. We had the guy come and plow our 20' X 24' garden plot. Then we bought materials and made a two-foot fence around the perimeter to keep the neighborhood wild rabbits out. Then I marked off my garden design using tent stakes and twine.

Today I bought 16 40-lb. bags of composted cow manure (that's 640 lbs.). While that sounds like a lot (and felt like a lot trying to carry the bags myself while everyone else was at school/work) it really barely covers the space I have intended for plants. I may end up sending Jeff back for more. I've opened all the bags, spread them out and have been using our garden claw to work the manure into the soil. I'm far from done, but my body is starting to give out. I'm in bad shape and I've definitely burnt some calories today. Here's how the garden looks right now:



Today's local weather:
High temp: 75 F
Low temp: 47 F
Sunny.

Outdoor workday

Today is another beautiful day so we were able to do a few things on our garden "to do" list. First of all, because we are starting a new garden, we need to have someone come and till up the land for us. Jeff contacted a local guy who had an ad in our newspaper. He came today to take a look and give us an estimate on what it will cost us. The plot is 20' X 24'. Here's a picture:

If you look closely, you can see the twine and stakes that mark off the rectangular plot. Anyway, he wanted to charge us $120 for the job. Jeff talked him down to $90. It still seems high. My dad had his garden plot tilled a few years ago for just $40. Oh well, it is still cheaper than buying a $200 tiller ourselves.

Of course creating this new garden plot meant that we had to move a baby pine tree that Jeff had planted with our 11yo son a year ago. We just couldn't get rid of it, so we found a new home for it at the side of our yard. My 16yo moved it for us. Here it is in its new location.

And finally, Jeff and the 16yo set up this new birdhouse for the birds attracted to our new birdbath and feeders located at various locations around our yard.


Today's local weather:
High temp: 63 F
Low temp: 37 F
Sunny.

Beginning the 2008 gardening season

We've gardened in the past with various success. This year we plan to expand and take the whole thing more seriously. Last year we had a tiny vegetable (mostly tomato) garden in the corner of our backyard. My husband planted raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. I have perennial flowers in the front yard. I have flower beds near the back porch and I plan to fill them with kitchen herbs this year. Finally, I will put annual flowers in pots on the back porch. We have other plans which include a trellis for the berries and a birdbath for our porch extension. Plus, we are going to try to make organic choices this year instead of relying on chemical pesticides like we have in the past.

Could we be biting off more than we can chew? Stay tuned and find out.