Brrr.

First week of March. 10" of snow. Sigh.

Seed order!

I ordered our seeds for this year today! As I was looking to update the blog, I couldn't help but looking at last year's planting dates and notice that our first outdoor planting was just one month from now! It seems crazy with the amount of snow we have one the ground...but hopefully this upcoming cold front is the last of the season.

More updates to come!

Creative Vegetable Gardening, Joy Larkcom

I was lucky enough to receive the aforementioned book as a Christmas gift this year (thanks!) and it's been fueling some inspirational thoughts for the garden.

The book is all about how to make vegetable gardens beautiful, and is plum full of ideas!

Some initial thoughts as I work my way through the book:

• Arched trellises between the beds. We may need to increase the spacing a little bit to get this to work, but I think it'll be a great space for cucumbers, peas, beans, and climbing squash.
• Hanging planter boxes (like window boxes) to hang from wooden fence to hold herbs (found this one on pinterest)
• Terraced raised beds - three small beds of staggering heights - this would be really pretty along a hill or fenceline
• A semi-permanent screen made by 1x1s in 4-6" squares would be great for cucumbers and primary
• Seating - these gardens are so cute and all have a chair or bench in them to enjoy the setting. we'll have to figure out something...maybe the Adirondack chair??
• Containers - filling little corners, etc. with containers filled with flowers or veggies. Note - soak new terracotta pots before using so they don't suck up all the moisture. The book recommends the following (we can think about these for the hanging boxes too!):
• Basil
• Marjoram
• Thyme
• Bay
• Juniper
• Lavender (I wonder if we could over-winter these in the greenhouse??)
• Lemon Verbena
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Tarragon
• Chives
• Lemon Balm (we planted this in a container last year, I wonder if it'll come back?)
• Mints (yes!)
• Chives
• Parsley
• Caraway
• Dill
• Coriander
• annual flowers, including marigolds to keep the bunnies away!
• For the herb garden, I think we need some creeping thyme as a nice border plant
• Intercropping - apparently onions can be intercropped with lettuce. We'll need to try this!

Merry Christmas!

A few holiday scenes from the farm and greenhouse updates!

Happy Holidays!

So to update my previous post, here is a picture of the new raised beds.  Well, this is a picture of 1 bed...there are 3 more just like it.  They are currently filled with leaves and dirt, and one is half full of garlic!

Also, we cut down our Christmas tree today!  And of course by "we" I mean Brad.  It's all lit up and everything now!  Honey is asking where the presents are.  Happy Holidays!

Fall planting and planning

Well, on Monday (October 29th) I planted my garlic.  3 heads gave us 30 cloves to plant in the ground, 1" deep and 6" apart.  This filled up half of one of my 4 new raised beds.  I also planted 100 purple crocus bulbs under a deciduous tree in our front yard, so hopefully we'll have a beautiful spring welcome.

Update:  my attempts at over-wintering things failed.  Something grabbed my tuberous begonias I wanted to overwinter and my pepper plants took a whack with the cold temperatures and never recovered.  There's always next year!

We have most of our winter-prep work done outside, the leaves picked up and grass cut short.  Ready for a long winter sleep.

Fall is here

Well, it's official. Harvest season is over. We had our first major Frost this weekend on Saturday, October 6th for those who are counting. The leaves are turning, and falling. Since my fall veggie plantings got nibbled up, it's time to clear the garden beds and get them ready for the winter.

We will pull up all the old, frost-killed plants, spread out the compost, and use the broad fork to work our leaves into the topsoil. The old plants and any extra leaves will go into the compost bin.

We do have a few things to go into the ground this fall though! I bought garlic that we will plant this fall for harvest next year, as well as some spring Crocus. Okay, by 'some', I mean I bought 100 bulbs!! Don't tell Brad...

They are going to go in the front yard underneath a tree where it is difficult to grow grass. Supposedly they will love it there. Hopefully next spring we will be welcomed by a mass of little purple flowers!

Both should go in the ground this week.