"In our day to day actions, it is often the small and simple things that will have a long-lasting impact. What we say, how we act, and how we choose to react will influence not only ourselves but also those around us. We can build up, or we can tear down." -Per G. Malm

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Patch Preparation

I know it is only March 2nd however I am increasingly anticipating Spring. I am ready to be able to play outside with Emily. It has been either too cold or too muddy. I am also excited to implement our plans for our new garden. Growing up my mom had a 60 foot by 120 foot garden plot. Since then it has been too much for my dad to maintain so he uses about 1/3 of it and in the last two years has shared it with us. Last year was tough because I only made it up every 7-10 days. There were times when I'd spend hours weeding and barely making a dent. And everything came "due" at the same time. So I have devised a plan this year which I will experiment on and tweak over the next few years.
I plan on having my dad till up more of the garden making 1/2 of mom's plot useful. I then plant on expanding what we plant (for more variety), plan on planting in phases (3 to be exact). The first part of May(or end of April depending on weather), the end of May and Beginning/Middle of June. This way I can continuously reap what we have sown and enjoy it all summer long instead of trying to get it all canned at the end of the year. Last year I did Green Beans, Tomatoes, Green Bell Peppers, Lettuce Carrots, Broccoli, Peas, and Onions. Not so much luck on the carrots, broccoli, peas, and onions. (It was my first time for those). So I am keeping the same as last year and adding jalapenos, spinach, cauliflower, squash, honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, squash, cucumber, zucchini, cabbage, red, yellow, orange Bell Peppers, potatoes and corn. ( The potatoes, corn, melons, and squash I'll share with my dad). Then here at the apartment I'll do a container of tomatoes and lettuce for easy access and eating. I'm freaking out!! (This all of course is dependant on my back. Its kind of hard to garden when you can't bend. But I am optimistic!) So this summer if you need to get a hold of me try me at my dad's.

2 comments:

Shanna said...

Good luck with it, I hope everything goes well. Sounds like yummy food is on its way.

Deb said...

Well last year our garden kinda fizzled out so this year my dad said we could extent it out 4-6feet so we might get a better harvest. We have it behind the garage and it did good but it was just to small and the dogs got in it and dug some stuff up. silly dogs.