Pioneer Day Gardening

How can you tell when a tomato is ripe? It's been half-eaten by grasshoppers. That's the joke, anyway. Another version says that the chickens you let into the garden to eat the grasshoppers ate it.

After a few weeks of neglecting the garden, it's time to pay the piper. Actually, I'm thinking this story began early in the season with all the rain we got. I didn't control the weeds adequately and they turned out to be quite the living space for an unbelievable crop of grasshoppers. I wish I could convey how bad they've been this year. There are literally scores of them jumping away from me as I walk down the paths in the garden. The boys and I have tried on several occasions to scare them into the area the chickens roam, but we've hardly made a dent.

They have stripped almost all the beans down to the stems,


decimated the corn and potatoes,


and have done serious damage to the cabbage.


They have even eaten the onion tops down to the ground. I didn't even know grasshoppers would eat onions.


And every ripe tomato gets attacked before we even know it's ready.


When I wandered through the garden today, I got mad. I took out some of my frustration tearing down the dead pea vines, uprooting some corn and beans and squashing with my bare hands any grasshoppers unlucky enough to get caught. Pretty nasty. It was enough to bring me to the verge of tears. I was ready to throw in the towel. As I stewed and fretted, I thought about the experiences the pioneers had when they came to these valleys and had their crops overrun by insects. I don't depend on my garden to sustain my family, so I can't imagine what kind of frustration and fear the pioneers felt as they watched their crops destroyed. Maybe I got a little taste today. We should definitely revere those men and women who settled the west and endured so much hardship.

On the bright side, my hot peppers and melons seem to be doing well.



And the potatoes look like they got big enough to use before the tops were wiped out.


All these grasshoppers have put a serious damper on my fall-crop plans. I need to figure out some way to protect the young plants I'm ready to put out.

The dog days of summer are nearly upon us. It's one of the hardest seasons for me to garden in, whether due to bugs, disease, weather or apathy. Keep your shoulder to the wheel!

2009-06-27 The Rain Is Finally Done

We've had quite the wet month here in Loafer Canyon. A weather station up on the hill has recorded 3.3 inches of rain in June, which is well above average. I have only had to water the garden by hand once or twice since the middle of May. The same station recorded 1.21 inches two years ago and ZERO last year for June. Of course, all the rain means the weeds have had their way. I need to get out there with some Roundup as soon as they dry out.

Of course, the cool wet weather has been great for crops like peas, lettuce, broccoli, etc. I harvested all but one head of broccoli over the last two weeks, and will replant those squares with something else.





The cauliflower is finally heading up. I'm not sure how big it will get before starting to flower, so I'll have to watch it closely.



The pumpkins have been flowering, but apparently only one or two have been fertilized because most of the little pumpkins are shriveling up. The cayenne, jalapeno and bell peppers have been blossoming as well, and we have tomatoes on all the varieties but the Soldacki, which seems to set fruit really late for some reason. Probably won't do those again. I started a couple of mini-boxes with lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions and carrots. I'll planning to put those on the north side of the house when it gets hot and I'm hoping to keep them going through the winter.

2009-06-16 First Broccoli and Zucchini!

Four-and-a-half months after planting, I cut the first head of broccoli today! It was unlike any of the garbage the supermarkets have, a deep green color, and very tender after just a couple of minutes of steaming.



I'm amazed at how big the plants are. Here's Xander standing next to them:



I also took the first zucchini and hope to get peas pretty soon. The peas are just reaching the top of the trellis and the first pods appeared late last week.



Not much to write about. It has been raining often enough that I have only watered once or twice in the last month. Unfortunately, that means the weeds have been getting plenty of water, too. The nice thing about growing this way is that there isn't much to do once the boxes are put together, just a little weeding and watering. Go garden!

2009-05-30 Update

A couple of quick thoughts this week: I was supposed to plant my fall crop of broccoli two weeks ago and forgot, so I did it this week along with some more cauliflower. I'm thinking I want to stagger my planting of these next year so I don't get eight heads of cauliflower at the same time.



I also gave up on the celery. It never really thrived in the peat pots, and it pretty much withered up as soon as I put it in the garden, despite being hardened off. I'll have to treat it like broccoli next year, starting early in February. The habaneros are not doing well. I will probably try them earlier next year, too.



We've been enjoying fresh lettuce, spinach and radishes for the last couple of weeks. And we have our first tomatoes, pumpkins and zucchini, as you can see. Happy gardening!

2009-05-22 Update

Just a brief status of each thing in the garden:

We have been harvesting lettuce, spinach and radishes all week. I planted more lettuce and spinach earlier this week and need to do the same on radishes. The onions are doing well, but a few of them have been eaten off at the base. A co-worker suggested it might be snails. Not sure what to do about that.

The peas have really taken off, already climbing up the trellis. I expect to see some blossoms in the next week.

All the beans have sprouted, but I went too long between watering on some of the dry beans and a few of them are toast. The yellow bush beans look like they were eaten by a bird as soon as they came up, so I'll probably just replant some of those squares with something else. The pole beans are doing well.

The broccoli was blown partially over by the wind on a couple of occasions this week. I think I'm going to try putting some horizontal nylon trellis around them to give them support. The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are all huge, but don't look like they're even close to producing what I'm actually after.

The summer squash is doing well, each plant having about four true leaves and a bunch more starting. The winter squash is just getting its first true leaves. The pumpkins are growing quickly, and the baby pam and jack-o-lantern varieties already have tiny pumpkins on them. Don't know if they'll actually set, but it's fun to see them this early.

The corn looks good, about 2-3" high already. I need to build up the potato boxes and get some more soil on them. They're growing almost as fast as the morning glory.

The tomatoes are growing quickly, too. The two early varieties have already set some fruit! Yum! The peppers are doing alright, although the hot peppers seem to be struggling somewhat. It may just be too cool for them.

I transplanted the celery sometime in the last couple of weeks and it is pretty much dead. I think I need to start it in early February with the broccoli. I'll probably plant some more radishes and/or carrots in the two celery squares.

And lastly, the melons. I transplanted them this week and they're doing well so far.

I'm really wishing I had put down some weed cloth under some of the boxes, or that I had some protection over everything and could turn the chickens loose in the garden to knock the weeds down. I need to find something to put between the boxes to kill the weeds.

I spent some time earlier this week putting up some more frames. Tonight I got the nylon trellis netting up on all the frames I have. I need to do three more frames, then put a horizontal support in for the broccoli and probably the green peppers and the bush tomatoes. Oh, and build up the potato boxes, too. I thought I was done with all the hard work!

2009-05-15 Quick Update

I'm loving the gardening boxes! Unfortunately, so do the cats. I finally got a fence up last night to keep them out. They've been digging up the corn and the beans, and even a pepper!

The good news is that the corn, string beans and winter squash have started sprouting. So have the melons, which are still indoors. The potato tops are showing above the soil, so I have to add some more to bury them again. The dug-up kidney beans had some good-sized taproots. And the broccoli and cabbage look amazing! I've never grown stuff that looks this good.


Broccoli


Peas


Lettuce


Radishes


Pumpkin


Tomato


Green Beans


Spinach

2009-05-10 Quick Update

I did a marathon session in the garden yesterday, and now I'm glowing like a nuclear fuel rod (a la The Simpsons). But, I finished my boxes and got everything else into the garden except the melons and celery. Along with the final tomatoes (Mountain Princess), I also planted boston beans, black beans and kidney beans. My string beans have yet to sprout, but I dug one up and it has a nice long taproot, so it's just a matter of time. Neither the winter squash nor the corn have sprouted either.

A friend asked how to support tomatoes without poking holes in the weed barrier at the bottom of the box (which I didn't use, and will probably regret). So I'll have to think about that one. I will probably want some kind of support for the Mt Princess tomatoes, but I don't want to use tomato cages. Maybe just rebar, conduit and trellis netting like for the others...

I had a few casualties this week: one of my bell peppers was snapped off, probably from the robins that are nesting in the trees behind the garden and are frequently hopping around in the boxes; one of my habaneros just fell apart (no idea what happened to it); and one of my pumpkins looks like it froze yesterday morning. It did get cold, but that one plant was the only thing that showed any kind of frost damage. Really weird.

Anyway, the forecast is for lows in the 40s and 50s, so I'm feeling pretty confident that the last freeze is behind us. Woohoo!

2009-05-07 Quick Update

I've had lots of stuff going on over the last couple of weeks, including a little gardening. Since the last entry on April 27th, I've done the following:

May 1: Started melon seeds indoors.
May 2: Planted pole beans in the garden. Also got the potatoes in.
May 4: Planted winter squash, corn and bush beans outside. Transplanted the pumpkins.
May 6: Transplanted the summer squash, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers.

So, the only things not in the garden are the celery, melons and the determinate tomatoes, which need their own boxes. I have spent the last couple of weeks putting my seedlings outside during the day to harden them off. Everything seems to be doing well. I did a few things earlier than scheduled because I think we've had our last hard freeze. I've been monitoring the weather models and there is a slight risk of some cold next week, but nothing serious. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Here's what the garden currently looks like:



And here's why I have deer fencing (note the orange streamer at the top left, which is on the corner post of the fencing):

2009-04-27 (Last Freeze -1 Week ??) Quick Update

Well, the garden environment didn't seem so cruel until the weekend. Then, this happened:





Things seem to be fine even with the snow (we ended up getting 2-3"). The temp only dropped to just below 32 this morning. The carrots started coming up last week, but not as many as I had hoped. I haven't had much luck with carrots for some reason. I started cucumbers and summer squash indoors last Monday and the cukes came up four days after planting. And we got our potatoes in last week, too. The tomatoes have about outgrown their 4" pots, so I might have to invest in some bigger pots to keep them indoors a little longer than planned, given the nature of the weather this spring.

Which begs the question: When is the last frost really going to be?

2009-04-19 (Last Freeze -2 Weeks) Quick Update

I spent most of last week on vacation, so not much happened in the garden. We left on Wednesday after I made sure all the indoor plants had been watered. The outdoor stuff got several inches of snow, so no worries there. The peas, spinach and radishes have all sprouted. No carrots yet. Some of the lettuce has apparently been eaten off by bugs or birds, and the onions are looking kind of weak. I need to plant the empty spaces in the lettuce squares.

All the indoor plants look fantastic. It makes me nervous to put them out into the cruel garden environment. But, out they shall go!


Right to left, 2 columns each: Cauliflower,
broccoli, cabbage and red cabbage

So, next week the plan is to get the above-pictured stuff into the garden and get summer squash and cucumbers going indoors.

2009-04-13 (Last Freeze -3 Weeks) Quick Update

I somehow missed my Friday update...

Sometime last week, I planted carrots and radishes outside. I also transplanted the lettuce and the swiss chard to the garden. Saturday I potted up the bell peppers and the habaneros. The other hot peppers were potted up the week before.

The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage have been going outside nearly every day to harden them off. So far, they're doing great, even down to about 26 degrees. I would have transplanted those, but a harder freeze was forecast for this week and I didn't want to risk the plants that have been growing for two months already. The forecast has changed, but I'll probably do that next weekend anyway. I finished a few more boxes this week, so I'm ready for all that to go in. Speaking of freezes, being freeze-free in three weeks is feeling really optimistic about now. I need to build some light supports that I can put over a box and cover with a tarp for protection.

The pumpkins are starting to germinate. Summer squash will get started this week indoors.

I'm supposed to get seed potatoes pretty soon, so I need to get a box ready for those, too. I realized last week that two of my tomato varieties are determinate, meaning they will grow like a bush and won't grow up a trellis, so they'll take three square feet each instead of one. I guess I'll have to rethink my layout...

Angie plugged my blog on her writing blog, with a picture of me putting up a support frame in the snow. The title probably could have been "In Denial" as opposed to "Undaunted."

Tomato

John Baer: From the Bonny Group of tomatoes that includes Bonny Best, John Baer and Chalk Jewel. Bright red, meaty, smooth fruits with very good flavor. Great for fresh eating and canning, heavy producer. 70 days from transplant. CERTIFIED ORGANIC

Mountain Princess: HEIRLOOM Mountain sweet goodness. Grown for generations in the Monongahela National Forest regions of West Virginia. 8-10 oz fruits are orange-red and perfectly round with a mild tomato flavor. Very productive plants bear quick and early. Works well in containers too. Determinate.
Days to maturity: 68 days

Soldacki: HEIRLOOM Great heirloom flavor! Originally from Poland. Cherry-red beefstake fruits average up to a pound. A meaty potato-leafed variety with sweet tomato flavor. Indeterminate.

Glacier: Our earliest tomato and darn good flavor too! Produces high yields of small 2-3 oz orange-red salad tomatoes. Flavor is greatly superior to other extra-early varieties, winning all early-season taste tests. Sets fruit at 4” tall and keeps producing all season long. Great for the small garden or containers. Semi-determinate potato-leaf variety.
Days to maturity: 55 days

I purchased the John Baer seed from Seed Savers, and the others from High Mowing Seeds, all for 2009. I didn't notice that a couple of these are determinate, which means they won't just keep growing like the indeterminate types. I don't know how tall they will get.

March 20 (6 weeks prior to last freeze): Planted in peat pots in Mel's mix (peat, vermiculite and compost). Planted five of each variety.

March 27: Seedlings started coming up.

April 4: Transplanted four of each variety into four-inch pots with Mel's mix.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

Black Seeded Simpson: Early green leaf lettuce! Grand Rapids-type with light green color and tender leaves. Quickly produces a full-sized, bright green open head with slightly crinkled leaves. Withstands heat, drought, and light frost. A highly adaptable lettuce for plantings throughout the season. Popular babyleaf variety for a bright green contrast to mixes.
Days to maturity: 28 days baby, 45 full size

Oaky Red Splash: Arrowhead leaves are very long and soft with a bronze cast and speckled with red blotches similar to Freckles. Can be used as a baby leaf or open-head. Heads can grow to a very large size, up to 18” across in fertile ground. Midribs are often pink. Has a remarkably sweet flavor and silky texture similar to a butterhead. Thanks to grower and breeder Frank Morton for this beauty.
Days to maturity: 30 days baby, 60 full size

Salad Bowl: Bright green color with soft oakleaf edges and tender texture. Most commonly used for babyleaf production, favored for its shape, color and rapid growth rate. Full size habit is loose and open. Very attractive and always tender and sweet. AAS winner in 1952, and has remained a favorite for many years. Heat tolerant and bolt resistant.
Days to maturity: 28 days baby, 50 full size

Red Salad Bowl: A popular red complement to green Salad Bowl, with bronze-tinted oak-shaped leaves commonly found in standard salad mixes. Loose, open-heads form a medium sized rosette. Matures early and is very slow to bolt. Grows well in all seasons but color is best in cooler weather. Has shown field resistance to fall mildews.
Days to maturity: 28 days baby, 55 full size

Jericho Romaine: Summer romaine, with excellent heat and drought resistance. Produces a romaine head with a creamy texture and sweet flavor all season long. Hands-down winner of our taste trials every year. Lime-green leaves form large, somewhat loose, uniform heads. Available as raw and pelleted seed.
Days to maturity: 28 days baby, 57 full size

Winter Density: This unique variety combines the best lettuce traits into one. Part butterhead, part romaine, part green leaf—we love it, but we’re not sure where to put it in the catalog! Medium green leaves are tightly wrapped like a little romaine, around the lemon-lime heart of a butterhead. Prefers cool temperatures for germination.
Days to maturity: 28 days baby, 55 full size

I purchased Black Seeded Simpson, Oaky Red Splash, Salad Bowl and Red Salad Bowl seed from High Mowing for 2005. The Jericho Romaine seed was purchased for 2006 and the Winter Density for this year (2009).

March 13 (7 weeks prior to last freeze): Planted in peat pots in a popular potting soil. Four plants can go into a square foot. I'm planting five each since the Jiffy strips are five long.

March 27 (5 weeks prior to last freeze): The lettuce took longer to sprout than I expected, but it finally came up this week. It might be due to the fact that the seed is four years old.

April 7: Transplanted the lettuce to the garden. None of the red salad bowl sprouted. I got five each of the oaky red splash and jericho romaine and three or four of the others. I also didn't plant a second crop. I'll do that later, and probably directly outside.

2009-04-03 (Last Freeze -4 Weeks) Quick Update

We have celery sprouts! They came up a couple of days ago. Since the seeds are so small, I planted a pinch in each pot and I'm getting four or more plants coming up in each one. Here's a picture of everything as of yesterday:



The cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage are in the pots on the left side. On the right, front to back: six types of lettuce; four types of tomatoes, celery and some new bell peppers (the peppers have been really slow to germinate, so I planted another ten bell peppers last week, just in case); swiss chard and five types of peppers; and three types of onions in the back, some in vermiculite and some in the peat pots. I plan on potting up the peppers and tomatoes this weekend.

I need to start putting the broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce and onions outside to get them hardened off. It has been cold and rainy since last night, so I'm not sure that will work today. More snow is possible through tomorrow morning, then it's supposed to make it into the 60s next week (finally!).

Last week I finished a couple of boxes and got peas and spinach planted, eight peas per square foot and nine spinach. I had to chop through half an inch of frozen soil to plant them, but they like the colder weather, right? We'll see how they do. Plenty of natural watering going on.

Also, time to start pumpkins indoors. Since these are big seeds, I'm going to plant directly in 4-inch pots. I'm doing some pie pumpkins as well as some bigger ones for Halloween. The kids are going to plant another type to see who can grow the biggest one.

Swiss Chard

Improved Rainbow Mix Swiss Chard: An improved mix of red, pink, white, yellow, orange and striped colors. Uniform and upright habit makes for clean production and easy harvesting. More solid colors and uniformly narrow stems.
Days to maturity: 30 days baby leaf, 60 full size

I purchased Swiss Chard from High Mowing Seeds for 2009. I plan on 8 plants, 4 per square foot.

March 13 (7 weeks prior to last freeze): I started the seeds in Jiffy Strips with a popular potting soil, two seeds per square. Most of the seeds germinated and I cut the excess off with a small pair of scissors. They germinated fairly quickly, within a week if I remember correctly.

Cabbage

Premium Late Flat Dutch Cabbage: In 1924 the catalog of D. M. Ferry & Co. reported that, "This strain is the result of much care on our part to develop and maintain the good qualities that have made this sort so popular." Solid flat heads are 7-8" deep by 10-14" in diameter. 100 days from transplant.

Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage: Introduced in 1889. Solid round heads are 8" in diameter and weigh 7 pounds. Red throughout, vigorous and uniform, small to medium core, sure cropper, fine flavor. Excellent for cooking, salads and pickling. 98 days from transplant.

I purchased both strains of cabbage from Seed Savers for 2009. I plan on 8 of each type, one per square foot in my boxes.

February 6 (12 weeks prior to last freeze): I started the seeds in Jiffy Strips with a popular potting soil, one seed per square. I planted 20 seeds, but only about half germinated.

March 26 (5 weeks prior to last freeze): Due to cold and wet weather, I potted up eight of each type in 4-inch pots and will keep indoors awhile longer.

Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea)

Snowball Y Cauliflower: Introduced in 1947 by Ferry Morse, Snowball Y offers smooth, tight curds on deep 6-7” heads. Dwarf plants have erect outer leaves that offer good protection. Heads can be harvested over a long period. Recommended for fall crops. Days to maturity: 70 days

I purchased Snowball Y seed from High Mowing for 2008 and had some left over. I will plant one per square foot in my boxes.

February 13 (11 weeks prior to last freeze): I started the seeds in Jiffy Strips with a popular potting soil, one seed per square. I planted 20 seeds, and all but two actually germinated.

March 26 (5 weeks prior to last freeze): The seedlings are bigger than the broccoli seedlings, which were planted a week earlier. I decided I didn't really want 16 cauliflower plants, so I potted up eight of them in 4-inch pots and left the rest for the compost pile.

2009-03-27 (Last Freeze -5 Weeks) Quick Update

I potted my broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower yesterday in 4" pots of Mel's mix. I procured used pots from a co-worker. Nothing like free stuff! Some of the seedlings are just getting their first true leaves, others have had them for a few days, and others don't have any yet. Not sure where they should be. The onions are ready to go outside, but I'm not ready for them. Hopefully this weekend. The onions planted in the vermiculite five weeks ago are easily as big as the ones planted in soil seven weeks ago.

The chard came up last week. The peppers and lettuce started coming up this week. Only three of ten bell peppers so far, no habaneros and only one cayenne, but the jalapenos and serranos are going gangbusters. All of those were planted two weeks ago. Some of the lettuce hasn't germinated, but a new crop is going in this weekend for a staggered harvest.

Tomatoes and celery were planted last week. The tomatoes started coming up this morning, about 80% germination so far. Woohoo! No celery yet.

Onion (Allium cepa)

I purchased Yellow of Parma seed from Seed Savers for 2009, as well as two good-storing hybrids from High Mowing Seeds: Red Wing F1 and Mustang F1. Onions need a fairly long growing season prior to the summer solstice, when the bulbs begin to mature, so I start them indoors. Square Foot Gardening suggests planting 16 onions per square foot, which works great for growing green onions, but that only gives room for 3" bulbs to develop, so I'm going to plant nine per square foot.

February 6 (12 weeks prior to last freeze): I started the seeds in Jiffy Strips with a popular potting soil, one seed per square. I planted 20 seeds of each variety. Approximately 60% of Yellow of Parma germinated , but the two hybrids were disappointing. I only got two of the Mustang to germinate, and five or six of the Red Wing. I also planted an additional twenty or so of each in cups of Vermiculite. Again, Yellow of Parma germinated much better than the hybrids.

March 26 (5 weeks prior to last freeze): According to my schedule, I am supposed to transplant into the garden tomorrow, but my boxes are covered with snow, and only one has soil in it anyway, so I'll hold off awhile longer.

Yellow of Parma: A top-quality, late-maturing onion with handsome, golden, upright globe-shaped bulbs. Average size is 1 pound. One of the best for storage. Imported from Italy. 110 days from transplant.

Red Wing F1: The ultimate red storage onion! Blackish, purple-maroon, glossy skin and interior ring color that continues to develop during storage. Deeper red than Red Bull F1, with a rounder shape. Uniform, large, round globes average 3-4”. Very hard bulbs indicate its exceptional storage ability, similar to Copra. Long day. Days to maturity: 118 days

Mustang F1: Slightly larger and slightly later than Cortland, this yellow storage onion has equivalent storage capacity. Mustang was a real beauty in our trials. We were impressed with its size for a long storage type, and the foliage held up to overall disease pressure better than most any other onion in the trial. Long day. Days to maturity: 108 days

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea)

Calabrese Broccoli: Brought to America by Italian immigrants in the 1880s. Popular market variety. Tight heads can grow up to 8" in diameter. After the central head is harvested, side shoots follow. 58-90 days from transplant.

I purchased Calabrese Broccoli seed from Seed Savers for 2009. Broccoli stalks aren't all that great for eating (in my opinion), so I plan on cutting the heads off as close to the top as possible and allowing all the side shoots to develop for a second harvest. Broccoli gets pretty big, but not big enough to warrant the 24-36" spacing recommended on the seed packet. I will plant one per square foot in my boxes.

February 6 (12 weeks prior to last freeze): I started the seeds in Jiffy Strips with a popular potting soil, one seed per square. I planted 20 seeds, but only nine or ten actually germinated. Next year I will plant two seeds per square and clip off the extra if both germinate.

March 26 (5 weeks prior to last freeze): According to my schedule, I am supposed to transplant into the garden tomorrow, but the seedlings are smaller than I had expected, and it's snowing again today, so I decided to pot them up in 4" pots and keep them indoors a little longer. Most of the seedlings are just getting their first set of true leaves.

April 13 (3 weeks prior to last freeze): The broccoli has been going outside nearly every day to harden them off. So far, they're doing great, even down to about 26 degrees. I would have transplanted those, but a harder freeze was forecast for this week and I didn't want to risk the plants that have been growing for two months already. The forecast has changed, but I'll probably do that next weekend anyway.

Planting Schedule

I put together a planting schedule for vegetables that I grow (or that I might grow at some future date). Keeping a printout of this at my gardening table makes it easy for me to look at a date and know what I need to do. A PDF is here and an Excel spreadsheet is here.

Getting Started

I decided to start a gardening blog to keep track of my experiences in gardening here in Elk Ridge, Utah. Things posted here are my own opinions, derived from doing research online, reading books, and good old experience itself. Last year's garden was a good success. I had some topsoil brought in and grew many different things. But the melons, pumpkins and winter squash took over a large portion of the ground and some things didn't do so well. So I decided to make some changes.



I'm expanding my garden this year and implementing suggestions from Mel Bartholomew's book Square Foot Gardening. I am building boxes using 2x8's and filling them with "Mel's Mix," which is one part each (by volume) peat moss, vermiculite and compost. I am planning on 12 2x8 foot boxes, five 3x3 boxes and five 1x3 boxes (for the kids). Mel says you can grow in just six inches of his mix, but I'm going for eight inches to reduce watering even more. I also bought some rebar, EMT electrical conduit and some nylon trellis netting to grow tomatoes, melons, winter squash and such vertically. I'll post some pictures of my setup when I'm done with it, but you can go to the above website to see some of Mel's pictures. I also bought some wood shavings that I can use both as chicken litter and as mulch. BTW, this can all end up being very expensive when doing such a large garden. I would recommend starting small and expanding some each year.



Of course, all of this will be fenced off with six-foot fencing to keep the deer and chickens out. They can both do serious damage to a garden.

In order to grow some of the longer-season veggies, such as broccoli, I bought an HID (high intensity discharge) lamp to grow things indoors as much as eight weeks before they go outside. I'll talk more about lighting in a later post.

I have already started broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, swiss chard, lettuce and peppers. Tomatoes and celery go in today. I will post about each of these as I find time.

The peach trees look like they're about to send out the first leaves of the season. The cherry trees are coming back to life. The chickens are happy to have a snow-free yard again. And despite the snow forecast for Sunday/Monday, I'm pretty excited for spring!