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?

2012 garden plans

in typical fashion, it's only the beginning of march, and i'm already feeling a little behind here. without a real winter, i'm having trouble realizing that it finally is almost springtime. i'm hoping to sit down and start working on my real garden plan and seed inventory (and ordering!) in the next week or so, but in the meantime, i have started thinking about a few bigger goals for this season...

:: set up our rain barrels. it's ridiculous, i know, but we purchased some beautiful repurposed wine barrels two years ago and still haven't set them up! they even came with a spigot and filters (a rain barrel kit) and we just haven't gotten to it. this year's the year, after such a dry fall and winter, i'm hoping for a wet summer and i want to best use all that rain water.

:: expand my front yard garden. i'm hoping to plant more perennial herbs and maybe some greens. it's a partially shady spot on a little hill, but i'll be happy to not have to mow that spot and make the front of our home even more beautiful (and functional).

:: i want to plant more medicinal herbs, plants to use for dyes, and flowers. this is a continual goal of mine. last year i planted some herbs and flowers to use for dyes, but never had the time to actually use them. i'm hoping to learn how to make more body care products (especially soap) soon and hopefully i can grow more medicinals to use in these projects. last summer i came to love having freshly cut flowers in my kitchen and i'm planning on planting more of these as well.

:: put in a patio in our backyard. this isn't exactly garden related, but i want to make our backyard more of a living space. i want to spend more time outside just hanging out in our garden and putting in a patio in the shady section of our yard will help with this. i'd love to plant some creeping thyme in between the pavers too, kind of like this or this.

:: my last big goal for this season is to plant less variety. i know that might seem weird, but last year i planted so many different things, i felt like i couldn't focus on anything. last year i planted tomatoes, peppers, dry beans, fresh beans, cucumbers, summer squash, kale, chard, radishes, peas, garlic, onions, strawberries, raspberries, and potatoes. not to mention all the herbs and flowers. i'm the first to admit that some of these were more successful than others and year i think i'll focus on the more successful plants, plus a few new ones i'd like to try. i'm happy to rely on the farmers market and our csa (i think we're signing up for the first time ever this year!) for the rest.

i'm so happy to be posting here again and look forward to sharing my gardens and yours over the next season. what are your goals as you start planning your garden this season?

planning for the changing season

hello! it feels so good to be back.
thank you to all of the wonderful guests last week! i really enjoyed it.


the month of august is so special in so many ways. days are growing cooler, summer is savored, fall is nearing & the harvest is plentiful. in our home, august also comes with many long days of preserving, freezing, working outside & preparing for the changing season. here's a little peek at our list:

home & garden list
- peach jam
- pickles
- watermelon rind preserves
-freeze tomatoes
-build chicken coop
-plan for fall garden

to manage it all, we make lists. lots of lists. we also (try to) keep things organized so as to not miss a date or forget to do something before it is too late.

for our fall garden, we keep a large chalkboard in our living room to remind us daily of what needs to be accomplished. we write down dates for transplanting or directly seeding & a map of where those seeds or starts need to be planted in the garden.

i also keep a journal of successes & failures from the season to keep, along with ideas to try next year. this is a place to keep favorite preserving recipes, too. this helps to keep me sane & not make the same mistake each year.

finally, it is equally important to be realistic about what can be accomplished on any given day in the garden. if those tomatoes are nearing their end & you do not have time to make some sauce for canning, make room for them in your dinner that night. don't worry, there are still tomatoes ripening on the vine for your winter canning.

goals for this year's garden

hello everyone! i don't know about you, but seeing natalie's beautiful garden made me a bit jealous, especially since we received a nice blanket of snow here in minneapolis this morning (i'll be honest that it was all melted by the time i got home from work, but it was still a bit discouraging to wake up to!).  

since the season here in the northern latitudes is just beginning, i'm still in planning mode for this year's garden.  last year was the first year that i actually drew out a plan for my garden instead of just sticking plants in my garden willy-nilly with no rhyme or reason (you can see last year's plan here).  and this year, i'm working on one again.  

before i started drawing out my full plan (which still isn't quite completed- i promise to share it here as soon as it is), i spent some time thinking about my goals for this year's gardens.  each year, at the end of the season i reflect on which of my efforts were successful and which ones could use some improvement or aren't even worth repeating.  i also think about what new things i want to try the next year.  now that it's spring, i'm thinking again about some of these overall goals, and what new things (whether it's new plants to grow, or new techniques) i want to try this year.  in my four years of vegetable gardening, i've come to learn that tending a garden is, above all, an experiment.  

below is a list of some of the new things that i'll be trying in this year's gardens:

:: start seeds indoors early.  this one is already in progress and you can read more about it here.

:: save seeds at the end of the season.

:: grow more medicinal herbs and do a better job of harvesting and using them.

:: grow plants to use for dyeing yarn or fabric (such as hollyhock, zinnias, marigolds, indigo).

:: grow enough of something to can or freeze, or otherwise preserve. (tomatoes maybe? or green beans?)

:: plant in containers.  i'm hoping to fill up my second floor balcony with containers filled with tomatoes, peppers, pole beans, and flowers.

:: grow potatoes in potato towers.  last year i tried growing them in burlap sacks, with moderate success.

:: try more vertical growing to deal with limited space.  i plan to build different types of trellises for squash, melons, cucumbers, and pole beans.

:: and here is my list of plants i'd like to try growing for the first time this year: radishes, arugula, onions, quinoa, amaranth, peas, melon, and more flowers (marigolds, zinnias, hollyhocks).

well, then, i guess that's a pretty healthy list, isn't it? what are your goals for this year's garden?