new beginnings

on tuesday, i spent most of my afternoon outside in the garden. pulling up weeds, sinking my hands into the cool soil, looking up at cheerful birds greeting me in the trees, & staring in amazement at the tiny seedlings popping up in our raised beds. our little plot of land is waking up from it's winter slumber as am i. i treasure the beginning of the gardening season.

this year's garden will be our first to tend for an entire year. we have always moved from one home to another throughout the summer months, carrying our many container plants with us. this year is very different- it is a beginning! i want to share some of our goals for this year's garden.

:: expand our garden by adding a field garden! we hope to till up most of our backyard (except for the plot where our chicken tractor moves) & amend the soil with local compost. we will grow tomatoes, zucchini, corn, cucumber & squash in that space.

:: sell starts! the local health foods market where i work is encouraging me to sell my garden starts this spring. i plan to sell two varieties of basil, chamomile, thyme, oregano, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers & more. they are already so healthy & will be ready in about a month.

:: save more! i hope to preserve even more from our garden this year. less jam, more vegetables. those frozen bell peppers came in such handy this year so we plan to add a deep freezer to our garage for more space.

:: educate! we hope to have garden parties & hands-on lessons at our home this year. i am also teaching a series on green living at the university & some canning classes at local churches. today, i have an appointment for gardening consultation & plan to add many more to our schedule. luke & i are excited to serve our community as others begin their gardens & thankful for the extra income from sharing our skill.



& so it begins.

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?

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?