After a depressing, cold week, the weather has turned beautiful (for now) and my spirits have lifted. The 2014 garden season has officially started!
This year, after a so-so attempt last year, I'm doing it right. Last year's seedlings got very leggy, and the tomatoes didn't even survive. Nathan used my garden stand, and wired up some lights. I was going to use 40 watt florescents, but I was buying the fixtures new (since I needed 2ft vs. 4ft.) and bulbs for these fixtures cost the same whether they were grow lights or regular. It would be silly of my to not pick grow lights.
I'm even starting onions from seed this year. I have never been able to grow onions from sets. I don't know if I'm planting them too deep, or if I am using a short-day instead of a long-day variety. Hopefully starting from seed, will give me a better onion set to start with.
I find myself referring to my garden journal a lot. It has been so helpful to know when I planted everything and reading my notes on how I would have done it differently. I highly recommend anyone who gardens do this. Mine is just a 3 ring binder with dividers for garden, chickens, land, cows, and canning/food preservation.
Here is what's going in the garden this year:
Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin (kids choice)
Hot pepper mix
Sweet Peppers ~ California Wonder, Emerald Giant and a Carnival Mix
Lettuce ~Iceberg and Tom Thumb
Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion
Evergreen Bunching Onion
Radish ~ French Breakfast and Cardinal
Calabrese Broccoli
Carrots ~ Danver and Muscade
Tendercrisp Celery
Sugar Pod Pea
Cucumbers ~ Bush Champion and Marketmore
Darkstar Zucchini
Blomsdale Spinach
Golden Bantam Sweet Corn
Banana Melon
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean
Scarlet Runner Bean
I am still deciding on herbs. I have lavender, dill and chives ready, but that's it so far.
It's already clear that I will have to expand the garden, but I can't decide if this year I should add raised beds, a plot for corn, melons and pumpkins or both. My husband is really going to love this. Wink..Wink..
