The Year Ahead

I've got some big plans for this year and I thought I'd share them. My garden last year was basically nonexistent (for multiple reasons), but I think (I hope) I've got things figured out this year. Last spring, I lost most of my seedlings when my tiny greenhouse was blown over in a storm...a tragedy that was multiplied by missing the harvest on most of the plants I did actually get in the ground. I did a lot of traveling last spring and summer...not conducive to having a garden! In fact, you can see the aftermath of one of my trips here:

Yikes...

One big success from last year was that I discovered a service called Chipdrop. They connect you with arborists working in your area. I had a mountain the size of two VW buses (!!!) of freshly chipped cherry chips dropped on my driveway in August. Those wood chips mulched every bed on our property several inches deep with a ton leftover. My sweet husband decided took the initiative to use the chips that were left to build me a new (gigantic) bed at the back of the yard. I'm slowly filling it with perennials of both the edible and ornamental variety.

Understanding my goal-oriented nature, I sat down a couple weeks ago and wrote out a few for this year. I've even already accomplished a few of them! Here they are:

• Enlarge existing raised beds to 4'x8' (I've already done this, but they were 4'x4'...pictures will be forthcoming!)
• Build an arch trellis between the two most northern beds for beans, butternut squash, etc.
• Plant blueberries. I tried this last year and both bushes died from drought during one of my trips. New bushes have been ordered, so I'm halfway there on this one.
• Plant a dwarf fruit tree that is self-pollinating in the new bed at the back of the yard. I've chosen to plant (and have already ordered) a pie cherry called a Northstar Dwarf. I'm hoping it will arrive this week!
• Plant an asparagus bed. This has already been done.
• Transplant Japanese Maple to new bed at the back of the yard. This is done!
• Move the rhubarb to a place where it is less likely to be stepped on.
• Keep good notes on the garden. I've started this, so I just have to keep it up!

And here's the biggie: May-December (and earlier/later if I can manage it), I want to purchase no produce from the grocery store. 

Now, between the garden and our CSA share, this should mostly be no problem. But the only fruit our CSA farm does is strawberries, and my fruit trees and bushes are a few years away from fruiting. I'll have rhubarb from my own garden, and have plans to purchase extra strawberries from the CSA farm for canning and freezing, but that leaves out a lot. My plan is to purchase fruit in bulk from farmers while it's in season. I'll do the same thing with corn since our CSA farm doesn't grown corn, and I would rather keep the garden space for other things.

This last goal in particular is going to take some work on my part. I'm going to be busy canning, pickling, freezing, and drying in order to have enough to last, hopefully, through the winter. However, I know the difference in nutrition and flavor will be my payoff. I might even have a reduced grocery bill!

The Fruits of My Labor

I decided my cereal needed a little perking up this morning, so I just took myself out to the patio to pick some of my newly ripe strawberries! Aren't they pretty? They certainly were a lot less expensive than the ones at the grocery store!

Update from the Container Garden

I know, I know.....I promised to finish the garden update, but in the interest of not creating the longest blog post ever, I decided to split it into three sections: flower garden, container garden, and vegetable garden.

SO.....without further ado, here is the latest on the container garden....

I can't remember if I've gotten to show this guy off before now. This was Jacob's (my husband) St. Patty's day pick: a shamrock. I wasn't sure how long it would last, but it seems to be thriving.

Since it was so warm for so long (most of March was in the 80's here), I took the ranunculus (the one in front) out of the greenhouse. There are a few more hanging out on my newly painted plant shelf. Behind that is something called an orchid lily, which I am really excited to see bloom. My voice teacher and his wife gave me this from a division of theirs. Apparently, it blooms in an arch like an orchid, only the flowers are lilies! How cool is that?!

Ok, let's talk about the one on the top of the shelf....I knew that nasturtium were effective as natural "bug traps", but I was really unprepared for just how effective they really are....see how the leaves are mostly chewed off? None of the other plants have been touched....not even the tulip in the same pot!

This one's a baby. I decided it would probably be ok to go ahead and transplant some of the dill seedlings that were in the greenhouse. I may have to bring it inside later this week though...they were talking about frost on the news today.

I was starting to get a little worried about this rosemary plant. I had overwintered it and it was looking pretty anemic for a while, but it seems to be greening up nicely with some sunshine and warmer temperatures.

And lastly, the strawberry plant is starting to make berries!