As the days get longer and the sunshine gets warmer, even though we’re still in the dead of winter, this is the time of year to start planning the garden. The seed catalogue usually arrives around now (although I’m still waiting for mine) and preparations begin for the first seedlings that will be started in less than six weeks.
This will be my third gardening season at GlenMary. I moved in at the start of August 2021, and did nothing to the property before the winter. The Spring of 2022 my neighbour ploughed a 100’x 20’ garden plot for me, saving me a lot of backbreaking tilling by hand! Of course, there was still loads of backbreaking work to get the plot fully prepped, as it was a mix of lawn and established alfalfa fields that were turned into gardens. The cucumbers and zucchini were abundant- nay, overwhelming- that year, the beans were mediocre. There was a major battle with horn worms affecting the main tomato crop but in the end a year’s worth of supply was salvaged.
There were some important lessons learned from the first season which were applied to the 2023 season. Less zucchini plants, cucumbers every other year (one can only eat so many pickles!) and more crops that did not to be processed (squash, pumpkin, and potatoes).
So, what lessons am I bringing forward to the 2024 Season. Here they are:
1. Smaller but more Frequent Plantings: Despite significant improvements in 2023, I was still overwhelmed with certain crop yields and underwhelmed with others. For example, for the first month, the arugula was amazing, but I waited too long to plant my second crop and it withered in the heat.
2. Winter Crop will be Priority: It is totally doable to be enjoying produce from the garden in December. I have had years where I harvested fresh, delicious kale well into December. And many hardy herbs get better with the cold. I tried to get a late summer sowing in, but the efforts were a little half-hearted, and the carrots got frozen into the ground as did the beets, and the spinach wilted. The free-range ducks didn’t help matters. This year, I will invest (sweat equity, not money!) in getting a better set up for my winter crop to guarantee harvesting right to the end of 2024.
3. Plan for Abundance: Let’s face it, no one is excited to be offered free zucchini. Everyone who likes it, grows it, and also has it ‘coming out of their ears’. It’s kind of like rhubarb- you can’t give the stuff away. This year I’m going to explore donating produce to the local food bank and better managing the crop yields.
So, those are my resolutions/goals for the upcoming. I will Report back in late fall as to how things went. We shall see!
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