Planting chart part one

 Yesterday my husband and I walked down to our large field garden to make a plan for the growing season. We decided to use Ellen Ecker Ogden's rotation system that I mentioned in the last post, so we plan to move the leaf crops to where the legumes were, the fruit crops to where the leaves were, the root crops to where the fruit crops were, and the legumes to where the roots were.

Our soil is still frozen (though now devoid of snow--hooray!), but we wanted to get a jump start on the season by making a planting chart. Often we squeeze planting in on busy weekends or after work. My hope is that this planting chart will keep us organized so we won't forget to soak the pea seeds or add Epsom salts to our tomato planting holes.

Here's a peek at the chart we devised. Thanks to Julia for making this file a jpg so I could upload it here. Sorry it's a little blurry. Not sure why.

We made a chart for the vegetables and fruit that we typically grow using the following reference books that we have in our library (and highly recommend):

The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch
Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
Grow Great Grub by Gayla Trail

We noted the type of soil each plant prefers, if we need to add any additional amendments to the soil when planting, and if there are other factors to consider such as the need for cutworm collars.

Let me know if you have any questions about the chart. I'd be glad to answer them. We're working on a maintenance chart, which will provide info about what each plant needs during the growing season, i.e. if the plants need top dressing or foliar feeding, etc. I'll share it here when I'm finished.

Hopefully next week I can share some pretty photos of spring blooms.
Until then, happy planting!

A Fresh Start

hooray it's spring! i love new beginnings and a fresh start.
and i am so thrilled to be back here in this space with all of you.

we are going into our third season here at tend and it has been so fun much sharing our gardens with you.
i have learned so much from these lovely ladies. and it has been a great exercise for me to document my own gardening adventures and happenings.
i visit the archives often to remember a recipe or tip from year's past.

i will echo everyone with a huge hug and a thank you to heather for her beautiful contributions to tend these past two years and oh that banner up there!!! i am in absolute love with it!!! thank you heather, you will be missed but having your beautiful artwork at the very top keeps you here with us each week.

and i am thrilled to welcome abby to our little tend team this year. i have been a fan and follower of abby for some time and think her gardens are inspiring and beautiful. so now i get to see even more of them and so do you!

like julia things are slow going here in these parts of pennsylvania. it has been very chilly. i looked back to my posts at tend at this time last year and things were much further along. but such is the life of a gardener. patience is key.

in the mean time i have been dreaming up new spaces and have been gathering inspiration from some of my favorite books and online.

we have a few lettuces and spinach planted in containers and peas have been sown. but there is still so much to anticipate and do.

some major projects like a new back porch, some fences to be mended and a rock wall in the front are planned which will all help to enhance our outdoor space. i still continue to think of a way to keep bees in our tiny space and will write on that soon.

stay tuned....

spring planning

hi all! i want to echo the other ladies who have posted so far this week and say how excited i am to be back for another season here at [tend]. i'm so happy to welcome abby to our crew, and am grateful to heather for her two years of posts, and the amazing new banner she created for us!

like shari in vermont, here in minneapolis, we are just barely thawed out from our snowy winter and nothing is blooming yet! but the days are getting warmer and longer and i've been planning my garden for this year. i'm a little bit behind this year, but i've just taken my annual seed inventory, started a fresh new garden journal for this year, and made my list of what i'll be planting.

last year, we signed up for a csa for the first time to supplement the food we grow in our gardens. it was so amazing to have all of those beautiful veggies delivered each week! at the beginning of the season, i wasn't sure exactly what we'd be getting in our weekly boxes, so i just planted my garden as usual. after one year of the csa, i know now what vegetables we receive a lot of, and what we don't get at all and i'm using that knowledge to plan my garden. for example, i'm not planting any green beans this year! last year, i had more than enough from the csa to eat and can a few batches of dilly green beans. surprisingly, we hardly received any zucchini or summer squash, so i think i'll plant one of each of those this year.

i've never been very good at saving seeds (maybe this year will be the year i start!) so after i take my inventory of old seeds that i am going to plant, i make a list of seeds to buy. i've found that seeds can stay viable for at least four years, so don't discount those old seed packets- you can still use them! i'll be headed to the garden store this weekend to fulfill my list, and i'm sure i'll find a whole bunch of other interesting seeds that i want to try this year. i'm planning to get some of my early seedlings started this weekend to keep under grow lights in my basement for the next six weeks. i'll be sure to report back on what i planted and how they're growing!

i've had the same garden spaces for the past few years, so i mostly have a good idea of what i can fit in. i always end up with many extra seedlings that i pawn off on delighted friends, neighbors, and coworkers. it might be more efficient to draw up an actual plan for my garden each year (i've done this in the past) but somehow, the haphazard approach of planting a bunch of seedlings and fitting them in where i can seems to fit my gardening style best.

so...what are you planning on planting this year? how do you plan your garden each year?

new beginnings in our new garden!

yay! welcome to another year of tend! i am over the moon at the opportunity to share this space once again with this amazing group of women & with you! 

since my last post, we have moved (again!), built a garden & more! as i always say, i believe you can grow food wherever you are. with each garden, we learn a bit more & have the opportunity to make big changes. it's an exciting adventure each season!

today, i want to take you on a little tour of the humble beginnings of our garden this spring season! 

we chose to use what we had on hand & grow most of our food in raised beds. we have serious issues with bermuda grass in this part of the country so it makes managing weeds very difficult unless there is a weed barrier. 

luke is experimenting with double-dug, bio-intensive beds in our backyard. i am skeptical, but i love that he is always challenging my ideas & trying new things! more on that soon...

we also created two raised beds - one for medicinal herbs & another for culinary herbs - right outside our door for ease of harvesting & preparing meals. we are also establishing a blackberry patch in our front yard, a first for us in our home garden.

there are many fruits and vegetables growing in our garden right now. carrots are beginning to germinate & newly sown radishes are making an appearance. kale is slowly maturing, swiss chard is almost ready for harvesting, the lettuce is growing more each day & our beets are enjoying the nice drizzle that each spring day brings. every time i step outside, i swear our garlic has grown at least a foot. the strawberry patch, transplanted from our previous garden, is settling in nicely to it's new home. 

we are still waiting patiently. we are waiting for a nice, dry, warm day to transplant more seedlings. we are waiting for the last frost date & warmer soil to plant our summer crops. we are also waiting for the new members of our family to join their older sisters...

meet our newest flock of layers! 

we are so excited to see what this new season has to offer. we are digging in the soil, planting seeds & waiting as our bare landscape transforms into a bright green space with just enough to feed our family. 

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readers, we want to know- what would you like to see at tend this year? are there any topics you are particularly interested in us covering? thanks so much for your thoughts & ideas!

-natalie

a fresh start

 Spring has come on pretty sweetly here on the central Oregon coast, with a lot of warmth and plenty of dry days. We have been reconfiguring the layout of our garden in these early spring days, moving paths and adjusting the beds to follow (I'll share more about why in a later post).

We're almost finished, and while we work this out I have been planting a lot of starts indoors, following the sun on the porch and patio, and planning what will grow where once the garden is ready.  

The seedlings are doing well, and I keep planting something or another every few days it seems. There will be a lot of extra! I love to give surplus plants to fellow gardeners, and we like to experiment here, planting some things outside the deer fence to learn more about what the deer might leave alone.


The garden mostly gets left to it's own devices through the winter, and I start to see it with new eyes as the weather warms up.

What had seemed like a sad lot of survivors back in the early fall, turned out not to be so sad after all.

Recently we have been harvesting beets, leeks, turnips, potatoes, brussels sprouts raab, kale raab and leaf, and we're already enjoying an abundance of fresh herbs with our meals.

And speaking of starts, for those of you who are planting them, I wanted to share a simple, useful recycling tip before I finish up today.

After trying a number of different materials over the years, I have found that waxed paper cartons make excellent plant labels (they are shown in use in the image above). Simply rinse and dry your empty container, cut it open, and fill out your labels with a sharpie. The waxed surface is waterproof and the heavy paper is pretty sturdy. You can cut them to any size or shape you need and then recycle what's left over.

A lot of the labels I made last year are still in great shape, and could be used again this year. And when you're done with them, they are completely biodegradable!

  

Happy Spring!

Hi everyone,

We are excited to begin posting again for the 2013 gardening season. You might notice a few changes around here. First, we have a gorgeous new banner created for us by Heather Smith Jones. Heather has been a Tend contributor for the past two years and though she won't be joining us this year, she created a lovely new banner for our site. Thank you, Heather!

We'd also like to welcome Abby as a new contributor who will be posting every Tuesday. You may know Abby from her blog and Etsy shop, Infusion Fibers. Please join me in welcoming Abby to Tend!

Our posting schedule has changed so be sure to pop on over to our About page to read more about the contributors and when we will be posting.

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Here in Vermont we are knee-deep in mud season. I've been helping my neighbors collect sap from all of the beautiful sugar maples on our property. The snow is slowly pulling away, and patches of my garden are being revealed bit by bit. I'm trying to be patient, but I'm eager to begin the season.

All of my gardening activities have been taking place inside. My husband and I heard a very inspiring talk by Ellen Ecker Ogden last month. Ever since the talk,  I've been thinking about adding vertical elements to our two gardens as well as pondering a new rotation system for our crops. My husband and I do rotate our crops, but we aren't very organized about it. Do you have a specific rotating system? If so, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Our brassica seeds (kale, collards, broccoli, Brussels sprouts) have sprouted under grow lights as have the alpine strawberries, parsley, and leeks. I'm beginning to grow a few medicinal herbs as well such as spilanthes, an herb that is good for gum health and can be used in making a mouthwash.

Because we still have garlic hanging around from last season, I wanted to share two quick and simple ways to preserve your garlic. At this time of the year, the garlic often begins to sprout. Many people dislike the bitter taste of the yellowish-green sprout growing inside of the clove. I have to admit that this doesn't bother me so much; I still use the clove even if it's sprouting. However, you can preserve your garlic if you'd like it to have more keeping power as we move into the new gardening season.

1) Quick-pickled garlic.

Peel the cloves and pack them into a half-pint jar. Add spices (I used whole coriander seed, dried hot pepper, and black peppercorns). Pour a mixture of half apple cider vinegar and half white vinegar over the cloves. Let them steep for about seven to ten days. Sometimes, the garlic cloves might turn blue! I hear that this is totally normal chemical reaction and not to be feared. Do a quick Google search to read more. After ten days, move the pickled garlic to the refrigerator. Eat whole cloves or chop the cloves and add them to soups and salads.

2) Garlic pickled with honey and apple cider vinegar

This recipe comes from Rosemary Gladstar's wonderful book, Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide. I particularly like this recipe because I can use honey from our own hives.

Peel the cloves and pack them into a half-pint jar. Cover with unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. Let sit in a warm place for 3-4 weeks. Strain liquid and reserve half of it to be used in spring salad dressings. Warm remaining vinegar on the stove top with equal parts honey being careful to heat very slowly. Pour the warm honey/apple cider vinegar mixture over the garlic cloves. Let sit for 3-4 more weeks on a sunny windowsill. I store my jar in the refrigerator. This method creates delicious cloves that can be eaten as is. You could also chop them and add them to curries or dressings.

gardening 9 - 5

zinnias in the SNAP garden

oh, let me just mention now - this post doesn't include any gardening tricks i might have up my sleeve or any helpful information at all, really. & i'm so sorry about that! i'm just here today to share a little piece of my gardening story. 

we don't have a garden in our backyard yet. or our front yard. we don't even have salad greens growing in a pot on the porch. truthfully, for the longest time i really didn't know what to write here to explain my behavior & procrastination with our garden. we have big dreams - a beehive, ducks!, double digging (i'll share more soon!) - but ground has yet to be broken & seeds planted. i felt a bit discouraged with this season until i realized i am gardening... for work! for nearly two months, i have been working as an americorps vista for a nonprofit organization, NCAT. are you familiar? 

zinnias in the SNAP garden

part of my work includes maintaining two gardens. one of the gardens is a community SNAP garden where people receiving food stamps can plant their seeds or edible plants purchased with their SNAP benefits. we provide education & tools to promote future food! in addition to the SNAP garden, i am also working at the head start preschool garden. we are encouraging healthy eating & healthy habits by growing fresh food with kiddos. we're planting carrots on friday!

summer sunflowers in the SNAP garden

saving heirloom okra seeds in the SNAP garden



below are a few moments in the SNAP garden as i harvest from the summer bounty & prepare for fall:

i am so thankful to be part of building community through the act of growing food! the backyard can wait - we're growing food together. thanks for reading, friends.