Community Garden Update
I got an email this week from the community garden people. I got half a plot! Although it’s only 4′x8′, it’ll give me a lot more planting space than I would have had otherwise. I have to go down next Saturday to fill out the paperwork and pay (only $5!) and help clean up the garden. I’m pretty excited about it. Today I have plans to drive by and see the garden – I know where it is, but I haven’t actually had a look at it yet. I think the best part of this garden for me is that it’s so close to home – literally 5 minutes away, which will make it easy to go by regularly and take care of things. I’m so excited!
In my next post I’ll share my seeedling set up. I have a bunch of little guys going – probably too many, but at least I’ll have lots to plant when the time comes.
Seed Catalogue
This morning just before I left the house I looked out the window. It was still dark out and depressing. I opened the door and stepped out and saw that it was snowing too. Plus I had to brush off the car. What a way to start a day that was supposed to be 4 degrees.So much for that forecast.
Later on though I checked the mail and I got Vesey’s seed catalogue in the mail. It came on the perfect day to help cheer me up. I’ve had a quick look through it. It’s great to see all those pictures of veggies and flowers with all this snow and cold weather.
Seeds
I’m so excited, I ordered my seeds last night. Actually everything but the tomatoes, which I’m ordering from a guy who grows heirlooms in a little town just north of here. I found the tomato plant I got from him last year grew a lot better than any of the other tomatoes I had. I think it’s because he gets the seeds from the plants he grows, so they’re more adapted to the short growing season here.
But anyways, I ordered the seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (http://rareseeds.com/seeds/). I tried to get seeds that were either good for short seasons or were good producers. Here’s a list of what I ordered:
Beans – Contender (Buff Valentine)
Cabbage – Brunswick
Carrots – Danvers 126 Half Long
Celery – Tendercrisp
Cucumber – Early Russian
Eggplant – Round Mauve
Leek – Giant Musselburg
Lettuce – Speckled
Onion – Yellow of Parma
Radish – Early Scarlet Globe
Swiss Chard – Five Color Silverbeet
Watermelon – Cream of Saskatoon
Now the hardest part – waiting for the seeds to get here.
Square Foot Gardening
To be honest I’m a little turned off. I was really excited about learning more about this method of gardening but I just don’t connect with how the author writes. He explains things like the people reading his book aren’t very bright. Just because it says one thing on the back of the seed package doesn’t mean I’m going to follow it exactly. I’m going to look at my garden and work with the soil and space restrictions I have and work with it.
I also think that part of what I like about gardening is the beauty of it. If I had to plant everything in square beds with grids on it I wouldn’t find the backyard nearly as pretty. While I defintely think there’s a time and place for being efficient, I’m not sure if the garden is it.
I still haven’t finished the book yet, but I’m hoping I’ll like more of what he has to say.
Away From the Blog
Well, I’m not going to be home for the next week so I won’t be able to post anything new til I get back. I didn’t want people to think I’d forgotten about the blog.
Community Garden
I’ve been reading about community gardens recently. I think it would be a lot of fun to have one – to have so much space as well as get to know other people who enjoy gardening. So I decided to google community gardens in the city I live in to see if there were any close by. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out there is – it’s not the best area of the city but it’s in the same neighborhood where I went to high school and worked for awhile.
There was an email attached to the listing so I sent off one a week or two ago to find out the specifics. I got an email back this morning, so here are the details. Last year was their first season. It costs $10 for a season, there are 16 4′x16′ plots. They don’t allow pesticides and there are several rain barrels on site. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to tell me if they’d have any plots available – she won’t know til March.
So does this sound like a good community garden? The plots sound huge to me, and $10 doesn’t sound like much. I like the fact that it’s close by, about a 5 minute drive. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Happy New Year
I want to wish all of you in the gardening world a happy new year and a blessed 2009.
Square Foot Gardening
It’s really cold and snowy outside right now and I’m really missing the garden. This morning I got an email from the library saying that the Square Foot Gardening book I had on hold is in and I picked it up this afternoon. I’ve never read it before so I’m excited to learn. It sounds like a great way to garden for me cause our backyard is so small. Maybe it’ll cheer me up a bit.
I’ll let you know what I think after I finish it.
What to Grow
I think I’ve decided on which vegetables I want to grow in the garden this year. Here’s my list:
Kale
Leek
Gourds
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Beets
Lettuce
Peas
Radishes
Carrots
Beans
Cucumber
Zuchini
Pumpkin
Celery
Eggplant
Peppers
Merry Christmas
I just wanted to wish all my blog readers and very merry Christmas and a happy new year. I hope everyone has a blessed time with family and friends. I know I will.
