***Note: That time you tried to start a blog, and then as you’re getting ready to upload pictures for your 4th blog post, your computer and/or camera goes completely wonky. And your computer says that it can’t recognize what you’ve plugged into the USB port. So then you try slipping that little SD card thingy into the front of the computer, and it does … well, it does absolutely NOTHING. Yep. That’s me right now. I’m sorry! I will remedy this ASAP. But in the meantime, here’s how I map out my garden: Last post I discussed the what, when, and how much of garden planning. Now I’m going to introduce you to my super high tech, madly complicated, highly sophisticated method of planning out my garden. Graph paper. Pencil. I know, I know. Mind. Blown. Also, this book is a wannabe homesteader’s BFF. I reference it constantly throughout the year. Everything from how/when to prune your brambles, planting dwarf fruit trees, to brewing your own beer, to gardening (soil prep through harvest!), to small scale livestock. It’s the bee’s knees. 1. Make a list of what you’re going to grow. As you order seed, put a little check mark next to it. 2. Get your graph paper and map out your garden space. This goes for you too, container gardeners. Measure your containers if you have them already and figure out how many square feet of growing space you’re working with. On the graph paper, I use 1 square for each foot of gardening space. So on my main bed, I’m working with about 12’x17’. On the graph […]
Archives for January 2014
Garden Planning Series, Day 1
There are a few things to consider when planning a garden. (By the way, I’ve decided to break this garden planning thing up into a few different posts to save you the riveting experience of reading a garden planning novel. I think it’ll be easier to follow this way). 1. Are you going to start from seed, or purchase seedlings? Consider winter sowing as a frugal approach to starting from seed (allowing you to avoid the hefty price tags of grow lights). 2. Are you doing raised beds, container gardens, or a traditional garden in the ground? A combination? Pinterest houses a wealth of ideas on container gardening and raised beds. Go there and browse! 3. How much growing space do you have? 4. What are you going to grow this year? A lot of garden planning articles will tell you to start small. Learn how to grow a couple of things, then add more next year. That’s cool. If you’re patient. I’m not. So, I say go big or go home, baby. That may or may not be the advice of a Type-A, overachieving, run-yourself-into-the-ground, kind of person. I like to just go for it. Some of your plants may not thrive. So what? You’ll still learn something and gain wisdom to use next year. Failure is okay. It’s actually guaranteed in the world of gardening. You just have to learn from it, apply your new knowledge to next year, and carry on. Each pack of seeds costs a couple of bucks. You probably won’t even use an entire packet in one season for most things, so really, you don’t have a whole lot […]
Winter Sowing
I think most people who are interested in gardening realize that starting from seed is generally the most affordable way to go. Even if you go with fancy pants organic heirloom varieties, you’re still going to save a boatload with starting from seed. Sounds simple, right? Get some seeds, plant them in some recycled containers with some soil, and then put them under … whoa. Wait a minute. Put them under what? You can only put so many seedlings on a window sill. So, what do you do? Grow lamps? A green house? Some may be fortunate enough to live in a warmer climate where they don’t need to extend their growing season in order to get a decent yield. As for the rest of us? Suddenly, starting from seed isn’t so frugal when you’re talking about spending hundreds on grow lamps or a green house. Sure, it pays off in the end. You’ll get years of use out of them. That’s true. It’s a worthy investment. But what if you don’t have the cash now? Before you know it, you’re buying half-dead hybrid seedlings from a department store, only to have them refuse to grow, never mind produce. All because you just can’t afford the set up required for starting from seed. Not that I know from experience or anything. My friends, let me welcome you to the world of winter sowing. It’s amazing. It’s freaking amazing. And you can do it on a shoestring budget, even if you live in a cool climate. You can do it for veggies, flowers, and herbs. You need a few things: Plastic containers that are clear. My […]
2014 and Garden Planning
Happy New Year!! We had a busy, yet relaxing Christmas this year. Sounds kind of conflicting, doesn’t it? We were busy in that we spent a great deal of time moving from one family party to another, but it was relaxing because we were so at peace with it. I’ve always found holiday party hopping to be extremely stressful. I really resented it. This year, though, something was different. I was honestly just thankful for the opportunity to be able to visit with so many friends and family. Not that there’s anything wrong with wanting things to be low key. There isn’t. I just really wanted to take this season to be thankful that we have the ability to visit. I know so many live far away from their family. Holidays can get lonely when everyone you know and love is far away. I found more relaxation and peace in my decision to be grateful than I ever did in my resistance in previous years where I sort of dug my heels into the ground about the whole thing. Gratitude … it’s something that I’m working on within myself. Among other things. So, now we’re on to 2014! I’m not big on New Years Resolutions, but I do have a few goals for the homestead. I want to continue to work towards growing as much as our own food as possible. Maybe get few laying hens. Continue fixing up the house for resale (so that we can some day move onto our dream homestead). Last year I chose a virtue that I wanted to work on, and I really worked toward being more humble. This […]
