How to Plan Your Garden
Inside: While the cold winds of early March still blow, now is the perfect time to plan your garden for spring.
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While it might seem early to talk garden planning, by the standards of most seasoned gardeners, I’m late to the game. They’ve already eagerly scanned their favorite garden catalogues (likely down at the mailbox the moment they arrived) and dog-eared the pages of their veggie, fruit, and flower selections. They’ve made sketches of their various plots and beds, gathered materials, and are now just waiting for mother nature to cooperate.
If you’re not seasoned, and even if you are, I’d like to lead you down my garden path and give you food for thought (pun intended) before you set about planning your garden.
What do you want from your garden?
This is arguably the most important point to consider. Really think about what you want from your garden–it will save you time, money, and energy if you put a little thought into the process. Do you want to feed your family for the summer and preserve the harvest through the winter all the way into next year’s crop? Do you want to enjoy your favorite veggies for the season but once the frost comes, you’re ready for a break? Maybe a couple of pots of tomatoes on the patio are more your speed. Or maybe you’re only interested in flowers. Whatever you decide, make sure your goals are a good match for your resources.
How much space do you have?
This might seem like a fixed answer, but the more you learn about gardening, the more choices you have. Limited space? Think vertically! Vines trailing up trellises, string beans clinging to poles, tomatoes in cages–you get the idea. You might also be interested in succession planting or having both a spring and fall garden. Or maybe adding a raised bed so you can plant crops closer together is the perfect solution. The only catch is you need an area with at least six hours of sun. Sadly I can’t tell you how many times I talk to folks who tell me they love their home, but they have too many mature trees, making it impossible to find a sunny spot to garden. But even then you have some options–shade loving plants, though the list is, admittedly, much shorter.
My point is that you can usually garden to some degree where you are, even if it’s only small pots of herbs in a kitchen window. I know people who have made the most of garden boxes on a deck with what little sun they have. So, bottom line, space with sun is best, but you can sometimes find ways around it.
How much time do you have to garden?
While there are many good tips when it comes to garden chores, the truth of the matter is that growing vegetables, fruits, and flowers requires an investment of time. Do you have lots of hours to spend outdoors on a regular basis or just a few minutes on the weekends? Would any family members or friends agree to help in exchange for produce? It’s very easy to get an “eyes bigger than stomach” mentality when it comes to wanting to put in a huge garden. I know firsthand because I’ve done this. More than I’d care to admit. But we all have only so many minutes in the day. Be realistic about what you can take on with the time you have available.
How much money do you have to spend?
Transplants aren’t too pricey, but when you have a large plot or several flower beds to fill, the cost can quickly add up. Seeds are a bargain if you plant them in time. For example, I’m going to start cauliflower and cabbage seeds this coming week, but if I wait too much longer the cauliflower won’t get planted in time to beat the summer heat–which means it will bolt–and the cabbage will be stunted. Both like it cool. If you miss the spring deadline for planting, you can always sow seeds for the fall. As a matter of fact, the best sweet corn I ever grew I harvested in September with no corn earworms to contend with.
To save money, plant seeds. If you have a larger budget, transplants can be quite convenient.
What would you like to grow?
Do you have favorite veggies and fruits you like to grow every year? Personally, I can’t imagine a garden without tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn. Is there a particular type of flower you like to plant in hanging baskets? It might seem like a no-brainer, but filling your garden with plants you love will bring more joy to digging in the dirt and maybe make those not-so-fun tasks like weeding and watering easier to handle.
What grows well in your area?
What have you had success growing? What do your neighbors grow? What are the local plant stands selling? You might like peanuts, but if you hail from the north, your season is likely too short for them. It’s best to work within your planting zone and microclimate. On the other hand, have there been any plants that haven’t worked well for you, yet, with dogged determination you want to try again? Provided the plant can be grown in your zone, then keep trying. Challenges in the garden, as well as trying new varieties and techniques, adds fun and a little bit of mystery to the process.
A few final tips. . .
Let me leave you with a few tips to grow on. (Yes, another pun.)
- Use a calendar or planner to jot down notes. Why is this important? Writing down seed planting and transplanting dates will help you keep track of when your harvest is due. Also, if you are applying fertilizer or spraying for pests, you’ll want to know when you did these tasks because you usually have to wait to harvest plants after using these types of products. A calendar is also useful for jotting down impressions, weather conditions, or anything else that occurs to you. These notes are pure gold when it comes to next year’s planning and planting.
- Keep your seed packets, stick stakes, and directions on any fertilizer, pest sprays, or relevant product purchases. You will likely need to refer back to these during the season. Also, knowing particular brands or varieties will be useful if you choose to purchase the same thing next year.
- Watch for plant sales, especially after Mother’s Day. Also, if you’re not in a hurry to harvest, waiting until June to garden will save you money on transplants. As Mom said the other night, the best garden she ever grew she planted late. I had the same experience myself. A combination of consistent warmer temperatures and longer days, and your late garden ends up being not all that far behind those who planted early or “on time.”
- Be patient and wait for the right time to plant. For cool crops, get them into the garden soon enough so they will be spared the harsh summer. For plants that like it hot, make sure the ground is warm and ready for them.
Most of all, enjoy growing the plants you love in whatever way works for best for you!
Are you planting a garden this year? Tell us about it in the comments.
Resources:
The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook
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My 3 Essential Tips for Growing Strawberries
Trending Spring, Garden Talk, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Inside: Searching for signs of spring, Mom does garden talk, and sometimes you’re just not into it.
Searching for Signs of Spring
Wandering around my yard yesterday, in search of some worthy subject to represent spring, I happened upon this robin in a green patch of grass. Perfect.
Admittedly, it’s a bit early to have spring fever, but I do. I was talking to a friend at critique group last week, and she mentioned how she was just getting tired of being cold.
My sentiments exactly.
And the high heating bills don’t help, either. I received a nice reminder from my electric company the other day, telling me how I’m using a lot more energy than most other folks with my size home. (Hint, hint, stop hogging all the electricity.)
Sorry about that. I like it warm. I’ll do my part saving energy in the summer when everybody else sets their thermostat between 68 and 72, and I’ll be happily existing somewhere between 78 to 82 degrees.
Mom Does Garden Talk
Half a dozen women gathered last week at the Mindful Monday Meeting to hear Mom’s gardening wisdom and plant tomato and flower seeds. Cindy Cappel and her group welcomed Mom and me, and we settled in for a fun evening! It’s been a while since Mom has taught a class, but she came back to it like a pro.
During her garden talk, she parceled out several gold nuggets that this experienced gardener could take home. My favorite–compost feeds the soil, fertilizer feeds the plants. Another savvy tip she told us was that instead of throwing out old brewed coffee, it can be used as fertilizer–one part coffee to four parts water. Coffee contains quite a few goodies for your garden–phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and copper. So don’t forget your plants. They like a morning cup, too!
Mom fielded questions about watering plants, knowing if your soil is warm enough to plant seeds, and amending soil, among other topics. Then she showed the ladies how to plant seeds in peat pots–“Putting the baby to bed,” she called it. We visit the group again this Monday when she will discuss straw bale gardening.
I feel the green returning to my thumb already!
Sometimes You’re Just Not into It
It pains me to say this, but I just haven’t been into the Olympics this time around. Normally I love the winter Olympics–everybody in cold-weather garb, round smiling faces with a hint of pink from the chill. Cow bells rung alongside the ski path as competitors fly by. All the beauty of winter on my large screen TV while I sit cozy and warm inside sipping a coffee.
And South Korea, what’s not to love? Warm, welcoming people and lovely scenery.
So why the lack of enthusiasm this time around?
I don’t like the subtle programming changes. It used to be back-to-back Olympic coverage, with little in between but some commercials to help pay for it. But if you don’t happen to have cable television, you’re left feeling like a hungry person wandering the grocery aisles and being handed a toothpick sample of some meat product. Behind the sample is a box covered with slick packaging. The meat is okay, but it doesn’t do a thing for your appetite.
I don’t appreciate seeing samples of skaters and missing entire performances. I don’t like my screen split between a commercial and quad jump. I find it odd that we’re not getting more personal stories of athletes, and I have a sneaking suspicion that some of what the athletes have to say–particularly if it might point to a personal faith statement–is ending up on the cutting room floor.
Disappointing is an understatement, really. This viewer feels cheated, and I’m probably not alone. Considering their lackluster and selective network coverage, I’m left asking one question.
Whatever happened to the Olympic spirit?
Maybe I’m supposed to pay for that, too.
What’s happening in your neck of the woods? Tell us about it in the comments.
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Salvaging a Bad Day
Inside: No one is immune from having a bad day. So how do you salvage the rest of it? Some thoughts. . .
Last week I had a string of bad days. Not your average run of the mill bad days, but the kind that really push you to your limits. Sick human, sick kitty, mood swings, headaches, and other issues I don’t wish to discuss. Add to that a project deadline. And absolutely no motivation.
Such days used to blindside me. While I won’t say riding out these awful times has become smooth sailing, I have learned some coping strategies. Let me share a few.
Adjust Your Day
Ever see that old commercial with the sick people who are trying to get through a day at the office and the phone is ten times bigger than normal and the typewriter is huge? That’s how I feel when things go south. Overwhelmed is an understatement. Tasks I’d normally plow through become magnified to the point of feeling impossible.
That’s when I slow everything down and figure out what absolutely must be done. Of those to-dos–and the list is as short as I can make it–I break them down into ridiculously simple steps. I postpone the rest.
Ask for Help
For some people, this seems like an obvious step, but for some of us, asking for help is difficult. We struggle with not wanting to burden someone else, though if the tables were turned we’d be more than happy to offer our assistance. Within the last five years I’ve grown in this area by realizing that people care about me and want to help me, too.
One particularly bad day last week I had supper figured out, but the more I thought about what I had to do, the more it seemed daunting. I texted Mike and asked him to pick up some wings and salads from the deli, and it was such a relief not to have to cook that night. Using my words to communicate my needs and feelings doesn’t come easy, but I’m learning.
Apply a Generous Portion of Self-care
This is another concept that I’ve only embraced within the last several years. Women from previous generations, including mine, were taught to give, give, give–and then wondered why we ended up burned out and snapping at our loved ones! Yet taking care of ourselves, tending to our needs, is every bit as important as nurturing our families. Self-care is something I practice daily–from making sure I’m taking my vitamins to getting exercise to spending time doing things I like.
But what does that have to do when faced with a bad day?
Plenty! These are the times when self-care is critical. It’s good to be prepared ahead of time for both regular busy days and bad days with a list of comforting, life-affirming, and soul-nurturing activities, some nonnegotiable, others chosen. Here are some of the ways I practice self-care:
- the basics–rest, eating right, vitamins
- reading my Bible
- naps
- watching classic television
- coffee
- taking a walk
- petting my kitties
- talking to someone I trust
- gardening
- praying
- spending time with people
- diffusing essential oils that lift my spirit
- reading
- treats (usually that work with my diet)
- lighting a scented candle
The best way to begin practicing self-care is to make your own list.
While there’s nothing particularly profound in how I salvage a bad day, what’s different now is that I’m proactive. I don’t simply react. A little preparation and thought time can, at the very least, make a bad day brighter.
How do you handle a bad day? Tell us about it in the comments.
Related posts:
Finding my Pace: Slowing Down to Enjoy Life
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Simple Low Carb Fudge
Inside: Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day, perfect excuse to indulge in this rich and creamy, simple low carb fudge. But this recipe is so easy to make you won’t want to wait for a holiday!
This post comes later than I wanted. Life. It has a way of getting in the way. Sick kitty and bad days. Winston is better now, though. Me, too.
Back to the subject–simple low carb fudge.
This recipe has a different history. It has masqueraded as an icing in one of those chocolate cakes you poke holes in and let the fudgy goodness sink down into the heart of the dessert. Excellent with a tall glass of milk! And appropriately named–“Grandma’s Chocolate Cake.” No, not one of my grandmas. You wouldn’t have wanted either of them to bake you a cake. Trust me.
But I digress. . .
So it occurred to me one day this wonderful icing could possibly be converted to low carb. Worked like a charm on one of those black bean low carb cakes. (Yeah, you really can make a cake from black beans. And it’s not bad.) But one day I had a craving for fudge, something quick and easy to put together, and I decided to make the icing minus the cake. That worked welll, too, though the fudge needs to be kept in the fridge. Such is the life of most low carb desserts. They need to be refrigerated.
Another thing I love about this recipe–if you are a low carber, you probably have the ingredients in your house already. No baking chocolate is needed–cocoa powder will do, and you don’t sacrifice taste by using it. Have I sold you on simple low carb fudge?
Okay, then. Let’s get right to the recipe.
- ¾ cup of cocoa powder
- 1½ cups of an erythritol stevia blend, like Truvia
- ¾ cup of heavy cream
- 12 tablespoons of butter
- 1½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of pecan pieces
- Prepare an 8 x 8 inch pan by lining with parchment paper that has been greased. (Greased side up.) Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, quickly whisk the cocoa powder and erythritol stevia blend together.
- Add the cream and butter, continue stirring, and bring the ingredients to a boil over medium high heat.
- Boil two minutes and remove from heat.
- Mix in the vanilla and pecans and let cool slightly. (About two or three minutes. Don't wait too long or it will get hard.)
- Pour into pan and level out.
- Cool overnight and cut into 36 pieces. Store in the refrigerator.
- Enjoy!
A few notes on the recipe. For those without dietary restrictions, you can replace the erythritol with sugar and try it. I think it would be fine. The parchment paper can be tricky to get into the pan. You can try cutting it into shape, but I buy the flat sheets designed for cookie baking and push it in there. The weight of the chocolate mixture will hold it in place.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Did you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Tell us about it in the comments.
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