Planning the Garden
As I sat quietly in the pristine hours of morning, sleet drip dropped on the newly fallen snow cover in the front yard. No cars rushed by that particular morning, as a shrill phone call from school pierced the silence. A two hour delay. While winter forced its power still, I dreamt of late spring. That is the crucial time to plant seeds and I hope to God it will bring forth another plentiful harvest this year.
Our garden a few years back at our old house
Cucumbers growing entwined on a tripod trellis
Our first garden at our renovated house
I try to keep a map of last years garden plan, so we can rotate crops. By rotating crops annually, you are preventing pests and keeping the nutrients intact. Most of the time I plant tomatoes close to my cucumbers, lettuce and spinach. Carrots and green beans grow well together, for me. Squash grows well anywhere, as it’s pretty hardy. Our planting time is usually early June on a weekend, when we are off from work. I know this is a little late so I’m striving to plant earlier this season. Some north country gardeners relish their planting schedule and confidently plant in mid April or early May. As long as plants are in the ground ,they are safe. We plant green beans, peas,carrots,herbs like parsley, basil,oregano,chives,lettuce,and spinach all from seeds. Other vegetables we buy the plants since our season is so short. Plants that we buy from a local nursery are peppers,tomatoes,cukes ,eggplant, and squash.
My main problem is spacing. After ten plus years of vegetable gardening, I still don’t have it right. The problem is that you never know how full the plants will grow. I realize that some plants need more space to thrive, such as squashes because of the long and winding vines and tomatoes. It seems that we measure right but it always turns out squished and growing on top of each other.
A neighbor suggested to me to use trellises to gather cucumber vines to save space. This really worked for me and makes it all compact and is easier to pick the cukes hanging instead of lying on the ground. The problem of veggies on the ground is that small animals will eat them, so hanging them on a trellis tripod gets them out of reach. One year when I didn’t have time to put the tripods up, a mole kept eating tiny bites out of my veggies. Needless to say, I wasn’t a happy gardener!
It’s definitely time to jot down garden plans! Decide what seeds and plants you will buy and where. You could also plant seeds in containers in your home, for a head start. I can’t do this because my cats would dig them all up. Happy garden dreaming to all fellow gardeners!
All my Best,
Heart and Soul