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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Garden Prep

Last week was a beautiful week weather wise.  It made me think about our garden even more.  We are expanding it this year (We had pigs beside it last year conditioning the soil for expansion), and hopefully we will get it out of the new garden stage and into a more established bed.  We weren't able to get it tilled up in the fall because of a number of reasons, but we have a friend's tiller being tuned up right now to hopefully put to use soon.

Right now I also have my sweet potatoes growing at the kitchen sink's window, a spot in the laundry room ready to go for starting plants with a grow light (although I still need to buy my garden seeds), and I recently brought home sand and mixed my peat/sand mix today for doing cuttings. (I have decided to do greenwood cutting with the blueberries, raspberries, edlerberries, etc,  but I'm planning on trying some hardwood boxwood cuttings this week yet, and maybe some other plants if I find a parent plant - I'll try to get pictures.)

I'd love to hear what you have going on for this season's garden.  If you are still looking to get started this year, you can always start saving milk jugs, making homemade planting pots, or even give a try to starting sweet potatoes if you bring some home soon.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband made me a raised bed waist high, set down on the grass in front of my deck, so I don't have to bend so much, since I have disc problems. I can water it from up on the deck. I had originally decided to do a container garden on my deck, so I could be more involved this year.

But my hubby also put up a stone wall and filled the garden bed with a good soil mixture in the front yard too, because he wanted more traditional gardening. Thankfully, we live in a semi rural area and off the main road, so we don't have complaints about having the vegetable garden in the front yard.

Out back on the patio I have 13 strawberry plants that survived winter and doing well, 4 sweet pea bushes, 4 potato plants growing in a plastic garbage can, 16 lettuce, several habanero, jalapeno and tabasco peppers, cherry tomatoes, a container of radishes, lemmon balm, epizote, peppermint, and citronella.

In the raised bed, I have beets, spinish, carrots, and more radishes.

In the front garden, we have onions, cucumbers, zucchini, 9 more sweet peas bushes, 4 tomatillos, 4 heirloom tomatoes, more carrots, bush beans, more spinich, turnips, more lettuce, cilantro, spearmint, more citronella, and stevia.

Along one fence we have grapes but they didn't bear fruit yet. This is year 2 for them. And an Orange tree that had its first 2 oranges last year too. We have a few corn and watermelon on the other side.

My husband put in sprinklers all along the front beds, all around the shady side of the garden. We just water the rest that don't quite get enough.

We didn't start out planning a big garden. But when we saw the prices for one cucumber - $1.49! - we changed our minds.

Now I'm learning how to harvest the seeds for future planting next year. And I'm keeping a garden journal so I have a record of what worked, and what didn't.

I'm busy, but very happy at my little sprouts coming up.
And I'll have plenty to share."He who sows abundantly, shall reap abundantly."

You have inspired me to do this adventure.

Thanks!

Susanna

Meagan and John said...

we actually currently live in a big tall small city and I am definitely looking forward to being able to move out to the country and have a farm of my own (I keep talking about buying a lot of land around our house and making it into a farm with goats and sheep but it might just be easier to move to the country so I can have pigs too)

anyhow, I had some questions for you but can't find your e-mail anywhere (granted it is late and I am tired)--can you e-mail me at lewis4higher@live.com (I promise I am not a crazy head that is going to sell you something, I just want to ask you a couple specific questions concerning your blog and your farm

thanks

Unknown said...

in years past we've had a nice lil garden on our other property a couple of city blocks from our house but for some reason that was 'still' too far away. so Last summer I decided we'd move it to this yard this year & started a lasagna garden (sorta) in the spot I plan to garden. I have also been composting fruit & veggie waste all winter w/newspapers so we hope to enlarge the bin soon & be able to USE what's been a'brewin'.

Donna OShaughnessy said...

Our BIG garden plans are to have a LITTLE garden this last year. My goal is to grow much less and waste much less. And I must tell you I was so inspired by your shopping out of the cupboards for one month. Still thinking I could do it if I get busy canning this year. You amaze me Becca

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