Gardening Update

When I was in high school I attended a career center for Fine Arts. I would go half day to my regular high school and then I would be bussed to my other school where I would spend a half of a day painting, drawing or creating sculptures out of wood, metal, whatever. The intention of the career center was to get us ready for college so the assumption was I'd go to art school when high school was over. Come time for college, I enrolled and got into the Cleveland Art Institute but I panicked and decided at the last minute to go to college for Business instead-I dropped out after one semester.

You see I'm the kind of person that needs to create functional art. Fine arts, well at least the kind I was doing, isn't often functional. Gardening to me is functional art and oh how I love it. I love that I can feed my family with what I've worked to create. I love mulling over the seed catalogs that come in early winter to see what I'm going to plant the following spring. I get so excited drawing plans for my garden out on paper. I love it so much that I've decided to go ahead and create another blog documenting my gardening endeavors as well as gardening with my kids. It doesn't stop there. I'm also going to document my experience this year with a vegetable and fruit CSA as well as document my experience as I learn to can and dehydrate my bounty.

This blog will still exist but I will also have the other blog that focuses entirely on aspects of gardening. Click here if you'd like to take a peek.

Potager Gardening 2009: Seed Starting

Babes Playing in the Garden

Regardless of what's going on on the house front, I've decided to go ahead and start my seeds in the next month. For those of you who aren't aware, last year I started seeds in my basement with a grow lamp and heating pad setup. You can read about my seed starting endeavors and such from last year here http://anxiousmonkey.com/search?q=garden.

Last year I planted an array of veggies and some berries. I had some successes and I had a few failures but overall I'm still pumped to pursue this passion of mine-that is to grow my own food and cook it. I bet you didn't know that was a passion of mine, I don't write about it much if at all. Perhaps I will soon. I've recently become inspired by this gal here http://www.restaurantwidow.com/ check out her blog, you won't be disappointed!

I've tweaked my plan this year to try not to overwhelm myself, like I did last year. I'm going to stick to about 10 veggies/fruits and a handful of herbs. Oh god that sounds hard...what to choose, what to choose! The link above has a list of veggies and herbs I planted last year but I ended up adding another 10 or so veggies. I've always been an all or nothing kind of girl. I'm trying to simmer that part of me just a tad for my husbands and children's sake (ooh I think I need a comma there, it looks like I have more than one man! I don't roll like that but...oh well! I'm a bit tarded in the comma arena-I'm sure you've noticed.)

I currently still have my 4- 3'x3' raised beds outside and I will do the Square Foot Gardening Method again- it's so damn easy and it looks pretty too! Although I desperately want to grow strawberries this year, I'm going to wait until next year when hopefully we'll be moved.

Something I had hoped to do last year was to grow in the winter by using cold frames. I love the book, Four Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables From Your Home Garden All Year Long. In the book are illustrations on building your own cold frames. I'd hoped to grow greens over the winter and other veggies but with the house stuff and some health issues I wasn't able to commit to a winter garden. But I plan to have a garden all year long this year.

What I think I'm going to purchase this year is

1. Swiss Chard (I had great success last year growing this!)

2. Scallions (These didn't grow real well last year, I don't know why. But I adore onions and will attempt to grow these buggers!)

3. Heirloom Tomatoes (I grew a few varieties of tomatoes last year...they were awesome!)

4. Spinach (This grew well last year.)

5. Dwarf blueberry bush, potted

6. Dwarf Fig fruit tree, potted

7. Zucchini Summer Squash Hybrid

8. Bush Beans

9. Mustard Greens

10. Fennel

Herbs:
-Cilantro (I adore you!)
-Parsley

-Ginger Root (Been told it won't grow here, i'm going to try anyways.)
-Mint mix (Some for my garden and some for my window box. Yum mint tea & I'll make some mint ice cream this year...woot!)
-Lavender (For the side yard and perhaps the garden too. Oh yes maybe lavender & mint ice cream!)

At any rate, I hope I don't bore my friends (ya'll) with my gardening endeavors this year. I really enjoyed it last year even amidst the chaos of having a colicky baby and my other little peeps running around. I can't wait for spring- Isn't Spring such an awesome time of year?!

Oh yeah I'll have to update you on the chickens I plan on raising in the backyard.....

I'm just kidding! Ha I got you! I'm sure some of you thought I was for real cause you know I'm a little nutty like that. But I tell you it is a secret desire!