Sitting here on this semi quiet morning (only the girls playing in their room - Adin has spent the week at Grandma and Buppa's and is on his way home as we speak), after making home made blueberry muffins for breakfast, I have had some time to think back over this past year and dream of this new year to come. This family has seen some big changes over the last year; me changing jobs, Adin starting school, home ownership & projects, a new OD wood stove and my beautiful garden just to name a few. Our list of projects are by no means done and I don't think that they ever will be and that is OK. The weather has also been different this year than most some bad and some good, over all we can't complain for where we live.
I have mostly (during these last couple of days of not so nice weather) been dreaming about gardening in 2011. Such as what to plant again, what NOT to plant and what new things to add. Gardening season seems like such a long way off as I look out to now maybe a foot of snow (down from almost 3 in some places) that is very ice crusted and rock hard; at least I can plan. This is what I have come up with so far, and I'm sure some of it will change.
Things to keep:
Tomatoes (at least twice as many and more variety -adding Roma's)
Asparagus (praying it over wintered well and shows it's pretty little stalks again)
Sugar snap peas (add more)
Shelling peas (at least 2 or 3 times as many)
Pumpkins (growing out side of the fenced garden on it's south side - they can take over the hill)
Squash (different varieties - undecided and maybe outside with the pumpkins - we'll see.)
Green beans (bush variety did wonderfully)
Cucumbers
Carrots
Potatoes (in garbage cans)
Sweet Potatoes (in large flower pot on deck)
Cilantro
Leaf lettuce (not as much as last year)
Onions (lots more)
Peppers (bell and no heat jalapeno)
I might try spinach again. It was a bust last year.
Things to do away with:
Broccoli
Beets
Peanuts (critters liked these too well)
New items:
Brussels spouts
Head lettuce (Scott loves this stuff)
Wax beans
I am also trying to come up with some other fun veggies to grow. I need to get more adventurous with my cooking. If anyone has any fun suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
This spring and summer I also plan on focusing a lot more on my flower gardens that were severely ignored last year due to long work schedule and me focusing on the veggie garden. I can't wait to dig my hands into the soil, it is such a great stress relief for me. Until then, I will enjoy planning and dreaming.
You were successful with potatoes in garbage cans. Maybe you can help me to think about how to be more successful with potatoes. I grew mine in large flowerpots (36"). I've tried it for two years in a row and I don't get many potatoes and they are always small. To what do you attribute your success?
ReplyDeleteKatie - I don't know how "successfull" I was in other's standards, but in mine for a first try I think that it went well. I used three 55 gallon cans (one for each of my kids) with lots of holes drilled in them. I used potting soil as technically they were "potted." I wish I would have gotten more potatoes. I think we got a 2-3 full ice cream buckets full and a lot of them were really good sized. I added some fresh compost part way through the growing season. This coming year I plan on starting with more soil in the bottom of the can before I put down my starters and starting them earlier as we have a shorter growing season up here in N. Wisconson. Having black cans did help in keeping the soil warmer when it was chilly and I pulled the cans in the shade on hot afternoons so I would have baked potatoes too early. I hope that this helps some. Best of luck with container potatoes in the future.
ReplyDelete~Anna