Winter planning and prep

I've played around with vegetable gardening a number of times over the years. There is NOTHING quite as lusciously delicious as home-grown lettuce.  And....the whole family quickly realized just how long ago the lettuce in the grocery store must have been harvested based on how quickly it began to rot.  Our own, harvested-this-morning lettuce would last 3 weeks in the fridge -- if it didn't get inhaled before then.

I've had a my fair-share of hits and misses.  I've learned the hard way that it is ESSENTIAL to cover up the young cucumber and squash plants to prevent beetle infestation.  I've learned that I CAN grow melons, even in East Central Illinois, but it is best to stick to heirloom varieties that can survive anything.  I've learned that it is pointless to grow corn, because the raccoons love it too much.  And that pole beans need SERIOUS support.

I decided this year that planning was my top priority.  Little bit easier to do this year, as we are down to one kid left at home, and I no longer spend 5+ hours a day in a car (long story, for another blog someday).  And....we are trying to clean up our eating -- literally, as in Clean Eating.  I eat more veg now than I have in a very long time, which is good, but....I'm limited to what I can find in the store.

I started planning for this at the end of last season when one of my favorite online retailer, Gardener's Supply Company, starting putting things on sale.  I bought tall hoops and garden fabric so I could get started earlier, and extend the growing season further into the fall.  I bought a bean tower, and pepper plant supports. Over semester break I started going through what seeds I had already, and figuring out what, if any, I needed to buy.

Now, I must admit, I have a problem.  I buy seeds.  I buy more seeds than I could POSSIBLY plant.  I don't know why, except that I should also admit that I have a sufficient yarn stash to keep my knitting needles busy for the at least the next 20 years.  So obviously this is a personal problem, as my older son would say.

I spent much of break planning what I would plant when, what needed to be started inside, scheduling things for earliest possible harvest (especially of lettuce!!!).  I made a spread sheet of what I wanted to plant, when it could be planted outdoors, time to harvest, etc.  And I made a chart of my main raised bed (4' X 8') and printed a chart for every week of the season, so I could chart what to plant when, and keept track of when to harvest.   And take notes about what I was doing, and which varieties produced well, etc.

I got lucky when I figured out my friend and fellow handbell ringer Jeri was a SERIOUS backyard gardener.  It was the beginning of January, and Jeri was talking about getting her winter sowing done.  I must admit that I initially thought she said "sewing", which seemed perfectly plausible to me, but she said "sowing."  Jeri sent me a fantastic link to an entry in Keven Lee Jacob's blog that was all about this marvel, winter sowing.  I was inspired!  That was what I could do with all the flower seeds I had accumulated, and never managed to get started/planted/etc.  So I started January 25, and did a bunch of winter sowing.  I added to it on Feb. 1, and may add some more this week if I feel inspired.

The last weekend in January was gorgeous here in East Central IL, so I prepped the big bed (4' X 8'), and added around 8 cubic feet of composted cow manure to it.  I set up my cold frame near the house, and set out all those flower seeds in various plastic jugs and containers inside my smaller 4' X 4' bed that will eventually be home to the pepper plants this year.  And then I waited.

I intend to post one blog entry a week, as I complete whatever job I had for the week in the garden. This weekend I'll be doing a little catch up, and will post again later this weekend with pictures of what I did today.   I'll leave you with a couple pictures of seedlings and such.