Pretty quiet at my garden plot now. The parsnips I planted too late are still in the ground and still too small. The only action is the garlic. I planted this very late too. Tiny sprouts are just poking up in the cracking soil.
Its another winter like 2007 with no snow and mild weather (my favorite type of winter!!!). I was looking back at my records from previous gardens. We were knee-deep last year, but 5 years ago was very much like this year.
I like this quote that I came across recently
“January is the quietest month in the garden. … But just because it looks quiet doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. The soil, open to the sky, absorbs the pure rainfall while microorganisms convert tilled-under fodder into usable nutrients for the next crop of plants. The feasting earthworms tunnel along, aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds and bare roots to come.”
– Rosalie Muller Wright, Editor of Sunset Magazine, 1/99
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I enjoy looking at the photos of your raised beds. Nice. Some seem to be quite close together. How wide are your paths? I'm running out of room in my sunny areas, so I'm now moving into more shady areas with raised beds. Also, what is the orientation for the beds? Thanks, Carmen.
Quiet is good. Readiness is good too!
Enjoy the parsnips! I learned the hard way that sometimes the smaller ones can be better tasting than the big ones (after I got a deceptively tasty XL parsnip and thought that all big ones would taste that good). We also have no snow and a bare garden but at least the cover crop brightens it up a bit. Happy gardening!
Hi Kathy — I very much enjoy reading your blog! I came to your site today to copy down the quote you had under your photo, but I see you have changed it! Would you mind reposting it here in the comment section? It was something along the lines of being "closer than we were in September." Thank you! – Alicia
I Heard a Bird Sing
by
Oliver Herford
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
"We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,”
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
Lovely quote! This far north, the garden is even quieter in January. Even the bacteria and fungi take a winter holiday in frozen stasis (or near-stasis?). Thanks for the reminder of good things to come!
About the width between my beds, most of my paths are about 12 inches wide. A garden rake fits in most, but some are a bit less and I have to angle the rake to use it.
I often see garden plots with a couple feet between the beds. It depends on what you prefer. I like to use as much soil as I can for panting. Some years, I have even planted in the paths. Not that I recommend this – I tend to plant to excess and end up with produce I can't use or overgrown beds that suffer from fungi from lack of airflow. This year I will do better.
The length of my beds run east west in my community plot and north south in my home garden. Which is best? I have read that rows running east west gives better sun exposure. (As I remember now, that's how our local farm is set up.) I can understand this in a big open field. But in your raised beds, you might not use rows. I often grow crops in patches. When I use rows, I generally run them the width of the beds, but sometime the length. I have to admit, I don't give much planning to bed or row orientation. My main consideration is fitting the beds in the space available, and making it look nice.
Wow, I love your blog, your dog, your photo's (I have a particular soft spot for seasonal comparisons so I REALLY love your plot as seen from the window in your sidebar).
I'd like to invite you to add your garden to Folia, the online gardening website (it's free). I'm always looking to encourage more organic gardeners to join, and if I know their photo's might include cats or dogs I'm even keener.
It's a great resource for gardeners and has helped me keep on top of my 800+ plantings with photo's, notes, journals, milestones etc. They have an extensive plant wiki and a seed stash section where people can also list seeds for swapping. Here's the link to my Folia page so you can see how it works: http://www.myfolia.com/gardener/CDfolia/invite.
Wow what a big undertaking. You blog is great; been reading through it. We have a large Vegetable garden in our backyard ever year, and have been getting it ready this weekend. Check us out some time…
http://www.thelifeandtimesofthemarshalls.com/
Hi, I am new to the blogs and dont know how to check your location to compare your gardening schedule with mine. Where are you? I am in zone 7 NC and it is below freezing here finally, but we have yet to get any snow. This is unusual, as we usually have a 50/50 chance of at least a white Christmas and have been getting one for the last 6 years maybe. Your blog is great, especially the photos. It's wonderful to compare gardens this time of year. Sowing peas next month.
The gound looks a littel to hard to plant anything in it. Or is that just the light of the picture?