January 28, 2015

five mistakes that new gardeners make

A couple weeks ago I asked “What do you think is the #1 mistake that new gardeners make?” Robert Leavitt, a gardener and blogger who originally asked me that the question, has now posted the answers that he has complied. In short, he found the mistakes are: #5 Starting Too Big #4 Not Choosing the Appropriate Soil #3 Not Providing Regular Irrigation #2 Planting Something Where it Doesn’t Belong #1 Not Having Started Gardening Earlier Because of the Fear of Making a Mistake!

January 14, 2015

new year’s vegetable garden resolutions

1. More lettuce. I say this every year. I get a good spring crop then get distracted with all the other plants and forget the succession planting. Lettuce and other salad greens are something we eat a lot of. 2. Also more beets, carrot, garlic, onions. And less winter squash. 3. Grow beautiful tomatoes, which means solving the problem I had with bad compost. I’ll move them to a bed that didn’t get the bad stuff. I hope some of my home compost is ready this spring. 4. Grow bigger…

January 11, 2015

updated planting calendars

I’ve just finished updated the planting calendars on my side bar. Its taken me a few weeks as I’m better with plants than HTML. I think the result is good, considering. The updated calendars have more vegetables and updated explanations. Also I’ve added dates for succession planting and dates for transplanting. I am looking forward to using them this year. Tonight I printed out spring, fall and winter planting calendars for myself. My first planting date is Feb 22, the date to plant onions and celeriac. I don’t know how…

January 2, 2015

plans for another year

I drew up a couple diagrams for this year’s gardens. In planning for a new year, I always move everything so nothing grows in the same location as last last year (crop rotation). Along with rotation, I want to do a few things different this year. For my home garden: – I’ve moved the tomatoes to a bed that didn’t have the store bought compost that made them sick last year. Last year, all my tomatoes had spindly growth, curled leaves, and very few tomatoes. I hope the move will…

December 23, 2014

what is the #1 mistake that new gardeners make?

I was asked a question the other day by a blogger. “What is the #1 mistake that new gardeners make?” My answer: Mistakes are how you learn!! The #1 mistake is not having tried gardening earlier because of worrying about making a mistake! That said, I have found that the most important things in getting a large harvest are making sure you have (1) regular irrigation, (2) appropriate soil, and (3) at least 4 hours of midday sun. Also think about growing what you like to eat and including a…

August 31, 2014

new winter harvest calendar

To improve on my timing for winter harvest crops, I’ve added a Winter Planting Calendar to my online planting calendar. I added a link on the sidebar and here too: Winter Planting Calendar. I was reading on the Johnny’s Seeds website: Winter harvest crops are planted in late summer or early fall for harvest throughout the winter. … for harvest before and during the “Persephone Period,” when day length is less than 10 hours and plant growth essentially reaches a standstill. You can look up when daylight falls below 10…

July 15, 2014

read “my” chapter in Groundbreaking Food Gardens

Rustik Magazine has published an excerpt of Niki Jabbour’s new book Groundbreaking Food Gardens on their website. The except is about MY old garden – my shady urban garden! I can reminisce about all the fun I had there. Here’s the link: “Turning a shady backyard into an urban food garden“.

March 26, 2014

scoping out sizes of new raised beds

My husband and son carried the wood that will edge my new raised beds down to the site of my new garden. We then laid out a few pieces to see how the beds will look. My plan has six 4×12 foot beds and two 6×15 foot beds.

March 12, 2014

companion planting plans

I’ve looked up some companion planting suggestions and included the on my planting diagram. I’ll put carrots next to parsley. Peas away from cucumbers. Lupines next to the peas. Marigolds and Bee Balm with the tomatoes. And lettuce by the squash. I’ve never done more than the basic companion planting – add marigolds and pollinator-attracting flowers here and there. It’ll be fun to give this a try. I’ve grown hyssop for years and its great for attracting bees. I’ll put a row of hyssop, lavender and Echinacea along the front…

February 26, 2014

revised 2014 garden plans

I’ve scaled down on the size I’m planning for my new home garden. Originally I had a giant garden planned, almost twice as big as this one. But I’ve realized that I don’t need to grow much more food than I did before. Plus, since I will have a a big lawn to mow, a small orchard to tend, and my chickens, two dogs, and hopefully a couple bee hives to care for too, so I don’t want to burn out too soon. This garden version is only a little…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost