Waiting for Spring

[ksmith]

I'll be starting the tomato seeds this weekend, using seed trays and a grow light. The feed store where I get the kidz' dogfood will be selling pepper plants, I assume when it's warm enough to plant. I'll be planting strawberries for the first time. Assorted herbs. I'll be trying raised beds this year, a 4x8 foot patch that, I hope, will produce enough for me to attempt canning. If not, maybe there will be enough for freezer sauce and jam and lots of veggies.

I will be using the deck planter again, but for herbs and flowers only. Last summer's upside-down tomatoes didn't do very well. Two of the four plants grew very well, but they only produced a few tomatoes each. All in all, a waste of time, unfortunately.

I still have plenty of dried oregano and rosemary, but I may still grow fresh. Thyme. Parsleys.

I'm looking forward to this.

Comments

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

Basil! Though grow it in pots, because it can spread and take over a garden.

Raised beds are definitely the way to go for annual plants. Your back will thank you.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Basil may be a good choice for the deck planter. I do like it, and since I'm eating more and more fresh stuff, I will use it. And anything leftover, I can dry--the oregano and rosemary that I dried myself are really nice.

[nlbarber]

Under the urgings of my niece, I planted strawberries in a pot last year, and am in the process of replacing the hedge between her house and mine with blueberry bushes. I'm not sure how many of the strawberry plants have survived in my improvised strawberry pot, but we'll see if any try to bloom and bear this year. The blueberry bushes must be pruned back this year to encourage new roots, so no test of those for at least another year.

My herbs do fine, but this yard is really too shady for much vegetable production.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

One reason I decided to try the raised bed approach is because the garden will be so visible. I have to put it in the front of my backyard, near the house, in order for it to get enough sun. The board trim will make it look a little neater...although I will be surrounding it with fencing from King's old kennel to keep out the beasties, so it may still be a little stick-out-like-a-sore-thumby.

[(Anonymous)]

We're in the process of quadrupling our veggie patch and doing raised beds. I'd recommend checking out the 'Lasagna' no-dig method. There are three books on it. Basically, you lay thick mats of wet newspaper down on the ground, followed by layers of dead grass, leaves, hay, compost, dirt, peat moss, anything you can get your hands on. It is fantastic and eventually gives you dark and very rich soil, but the results are immediate with plants. For a good example of flowerbeds done this way, check this out: www.witsendbb.com/lasagna1.html

For container gardening, I'd check out www.yougrowgirl.com. You can also do the Lasagna method in containers.

For canning, check out www.pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm. I highly recommend the Raspberry Chipotle sauce recipe.

Jody in PA

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Now I'm kinda sorry I cancelled both my newspaper subscriptions.

How long does the soil take to develop? I will be lucky if I get the beds set up by mid-April, and that would leave only a month or so for the soil to form. Plus, I'll be getting a compost bin, so...

This may be something for me to try next year.

[(Anonymous)]

The cool thing about Lasagna gardening is you can plant seedlings immediately. You don't have to wait for everything to break down. The worst part is you may have to water more often because it drains more quickly.

If you are planing seeds, though, just make the top 2" soil or some soil-like medium so the seeds can sprout and take hold.

You could use cardboard as the bottom layer, too. I grab newspapers from work (we have 5 subscriptions) or ask coworkers to save them for me. Or grab them from the curb on recycling day.

Jody in PA