To-Do-List for November and December

November - December:

Why not get started early for next year?

• Save seeds from your harvested plants.
• Spread manure, rotted sawdust and leaves over the garden and plow them under; you'll be surprised at the difference this organic matter will make in the fertility, physical structure and water-holding capacity of the soil.
• Take a soil sample to allow plenty of time to get the report back. Lime applied now will be of more benefit next year than if it is applied in the spring before planting. Always apply Dolomitic limestone in order to get both calcium and magnesium.
• Save those leaves and pulled/spent vines and plants for the compost heap.
• Take an "inventory." Maybe you had too much of some vegetables and not enough of others - or maybe there were some unnecessary "skips" in the supply. Perhaps some insect, disease or nematode problem got the upper hand. Make a note about favorite varieties. Start planning next year's garden now!
• You're wise to order flower and vegetable seeds in December or January, while the supply is plentiful. Review the results of last year's garden and order the more successful varieties.
• You may have seeds left over from last year. Check their viability by placing some in damp paper towels and observing the germination percentage. If the percentage is low, order new ones.
• Before sending your seed order, draw a map of the garden area and decide the direction and length of the rows, how much row spacing is needed for each vegetable, whether or not to plant on raised beds, and other details. That way, you won't order too many seeds. This same advice applied to the flower garden. Try new cultivars, add more color, change the color scheme, layer the colors by having taller and shorter plants - don't do it the same way year after year.
• Once you get your seeds, spend the rest of the cold Winter months making seed tapes. Be sure to label, dry well, place in bags, seal against moisture, and stack flat.
• Look around for tools you do not have and hint for these for Christmas presents.

To-Do-List for September and October

September - October:

• Choose to use this mild weather to plant or transplant the following: beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, collards, lettuce, mustard, onions, radishes, spinach and turnips.
• Plant your second planting of fall crops such as collards, turnips, cabbage, mustard and kale.
• Save seeds from your favorite plants, especially tomatoes, squashes, eggplant, etc. Let some of the root veggies like carrots go to seed, and collect those.
• Refurbish mulch to control weeds, and start adding leaves and other materials for the compost pile. Store your manure under cover to prevent leaching of nutrients.
• Water deeply and thoroughly to prevent drought stress. Pay special attention to new transplants.
• Harvest mature green peppers and tomatoes before frost gets them -- it may not come until November, but be ready. Preserve 4 for every 5 eaten fresh - or preserve them all!
• Harvest herbs and dry them in a cool, dry place.

Garden Planner

I just found this link: http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Page-KitchenGardenDesigner - if you haven't started your garden yet, or want help planning next year's, try this on for size. It's loosely based on Square Foot Gardening, which I kinda use myself.

Soybeans and Corn: Feast or Famine

We found this article through http://www.survivalblog.com/ - "Bumpy Crop: Farming's Sudden Feasts and Famines: As Grain Prices Rise and Fall and Perhaps Rise Again, Growers Struggle to Navigate a New Age of Volatility and High Costs" (here's the link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123059685167541039.html#project%3DFAMILIES08%26articleTabs%3Darticle)

It got us thinking. We grew corn and soybeans last year, and as novice gardeners, learned a lot but didn't harvest much. Because of our move, we can't plant them in 2009 but for Summer 2010... we intend to plant a LOT more soybeans and corn.

Soybeans: We grew "Envy" - which has fuzzy green leaves, and produces 5-8 pods per bush. And each pod had 3-4 beans inside. They are all ready to harvest at the same time, which makes it easy. Our 12 year old Son had fun uprooting the entire bush and plucking off the pods, then tossing the spent bush into the compost pile. We only planted about 30 bushes, which gave us about 10 servings of beans (well, that actually made it into the freezer - they are so good freshly picked and popped into the mouth). In 2010, we will sow at least 200 seeds - 200 bushes x 7 pods per bush = 1400 pods x 3 beans inside. We'll freeze about a third, and will dehydrate the rest. We already bought the seeds!

Corn: We experimented with three kinds last year: "Hopi Blue", "Bloody Butcher" and "Early and Often Sweet" - yes they cross-pollinated but we expected that. We just wanted the experience of growing and trying the plant via the "Three Sisters" method. Learned a lot. We planted about 70 seeds, and most produced at least 1 cob - some 3-4. For 2010, we decided to plant "Black Aztec" corn - good for eating fresh when still yellow, but as the kernels begin to darken, it's best to leave them on the cob to dry completely, and to store to grind for black corn meal. Two benefits! We'll plant maybe 400-500 seeds so we can have enough for fresh roasting, fresh freezing, and let the rest dry to grind throughout the next year as cornmeal.

So did you read that article? What did you think? Plan on planting your own soybeans and corn this coming year?

To-Do-List for April

Each month, we'll post a reminder list for your garden. Here's April's!
April:

• Plant your choices of the following "warm-season" or "frost-tender" crops: beans (snap, pole and lima), cantaloupe, corn (sweet), cucumbers, eggplant, okra, field peas, peppers, squash, tomatoes and watermelon. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is.
• Make sure you plant the corn far away from the tomato plants as the hornworm for one loves the other.
• Order your fruit bushes like raspberry and blackberry.
• Order your miniature fruit trees like apple, pear and multi-fruit (grafted).
• Plant tall-growing crops such as okra, pole beans and corn on the north side of other vegetables to avoid shading. Plant corn in at least four rows x 12 in each row for better pollination.
• Make a second planting within two to three weeks of the first planting of snap beans, corn and squash. That way you won't be trying to harvest everything at the same time.
• Within three to four weeks of the first planting, plant more lima beans and corn. Remember: for better pollination, plant at least two or more rows.
• Be sure to plant enough vegetables for canning and freezing. But be sure to spread out the sowing so that you don't have to harvest all at once (like carrots).
• Cultivate to control weeds and grass, to break crusty soil and to provide aeration.
• Maintain mulch between rows. Get those weeds early.
• For the crops planted earlier, side-dress as described above.
• Plant tender herbs.
• Remember: Do not work in your garden when the foliage is wet to avoid spreading diseases from one plant to another.

More on Planning a Grocery Garden

You are reading this article because you need to provide more nutritious and healthy produce for your family. Okay, so it's April and just a little bit late for the planning, but it's better late and never!

Take a look at your seed and gardening catalogs. We love pouring over them, but not just because we love to look at the lovely pictures, and envision harvesting the food and setting our table. We know there's a very real chance that the only food we can afford in the nearby (unfortunately) future, that is healthy and non-contaminated, is what we grow.

So it's time to start asking ourselves (and yourselves) questions:

• How much room do you have to plant? Step outside, and look around. Potted tomatoes and peppers might do well along the driveway. That empty spot on the front "lawn" might love an apple or filbert tree. What about windowsills that get 4-8 hours of sunlight in the Summer? Or a corner of your living room where you can place a grow-light? Can you share some space in a neighbor's yard or in a community garden? Look at all of your possibilities.
• Are you willing to learn - not just about what to plant, but how to increase a harvest, keep out pests, prevent diseases, PLUS preserving your harvest by canning, dehydating, freezing, and so forth.
• Do you have the money? Sure, you MIGHT be able to do a bare-bones garden for almost no money, but can you feed your family on possibilities?
• Think about the food groups: starch/grain, vegetables, fruits, calcium, proteins, and fats. Can you provide a good variety in each? Make a list. Figure out how many different plants you can grow to provide enough healthy variety to your diet so you don't get bored with just what you've grown/produced.
• What you can't grow, can you provide in bulk? (Wheat, Rice, Salt, Olive Oil, etc)
• What about non-edibles, like cotton, bayberry bushes for candle wax, etc.... have you considered them?

Get the family together and talk about this. No, it's not too late to start planning. No matter where in the world you live, you can start a garden at any time. Even inside! So check back here often for solid information, but get going on your backyard grocery!

(Note: we live in the Northern Hemisphere, in Colorado in the United States, so most of our information will be geared to Summer (June, July, August). Refigure it for your location, if necessary.)

Get Your Garden Started

You've decided to start a garden. You might have a corner of your living room where you can put a few pots under a grow light, or you have a greenhouse, a backyard or even a friend's field. This posting will only cover what will go outside. We'll get to container gardening later.

So... what now?

1. You can contact your local Cooperative Extension or Master Gardener program to ask questions specific to your region. Locate your County Extension office through this link: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/
2. You should be aware of your gardening zone. It is important to know your garden zone, because then you will know what plants are well suited for your area. Some zones have changed in the last 16 years -- due to climate change. Take a look at: http://www.arborday.org/media/map_change.cfm to be aware of changes in your area.
3. You need to know your last and first frost date. There is a very slim chance of freeze outside of the last and first frost dates, but it does happen. Last frost dates would occur in the spring and first frost in the autumn.

Now what?

1. Decide how much room you have. Start small. If you've never gardened before, you might feel overwhelmed when everything is ready to harvest at once. If you aren't prepared to can or dehydrate 30 bushels of tomatoes in one day, rethink your plan.
2. Keep in mind that you might want perennial vegetables and fruits. Where on your "land" can you plant berry brambles or asparagus so that you can leave it forever? What about a miniature apple or pear tree? Think about planting all of your fruit trees in one area (like the front yard) which would leave the entire backyard for vegetable gardening.
3. Grow only those foods you enjoy eating. List your family's favorites: corn, beans, tomatoes, eggplant. If your kids will only eat carrots, give lots of room to several varieties of carrots.
4. Did you decide what to grow? It's March and you should have bought your seeds by now (early January is best)... but that's ok. Order some today. Make sure they are packed for the current year. When you buy seeds online, you'll find they are usually for the current year. There are many sources. Check out this link.
5. Gather your gardening equipment. You'll need a good pair of gardening gloves, spade, watering can, a hoe to break up the soil and keep the weeks in check. This is just a basic list.
6. Prepare your garden area. Make sure it gets full sun nearly all day. Mark where your house (or another structure) casts a shadow in the morning, and again at mid-day and in the evening. Remember that trees that may be bare now will have leaves in the Summer, giving off a big shadow. Are you going to use raised beds because your soil is so bad? Build or buy the raised bed boxes and place them just so. If you're going to use the ground, break up and turn the soil. Add compost or other soil amendments.
7. Look at the backs of the seed packets, in catalogs and everywhere else you can find growing information. Figure out how much space you need and how much you have. Sow accordingly. For example, lettuce can be grown in a solid mat, but peppers and tomatoes need about 2 feet in between each. Pumpkins need about 4 feet plus lots of room for the vines. Carrots need an inch or two in between, depending on the size of the carrot. You get the drift.
8. Think outside of the box. There are many places for climbing plants, like beans, cucumbers, and even those tiny pumpkin vines. Train them up the side of your house, along a porch railing, or up a fence. Herbs like parsley can be placed in flower beds. Blueberry bushes can be planted along the driveway. Thorny blackberries against that fence that the neighbor's kids always want to climb over.
9. Most locations have two main planting seasons: cool (Spring and Fall) and warm (Summer). Cool season crops include broccoli, lettuce, spinach, peas, cauliflower, etc. Warm season crops include cucumbers, beans, corn, squash, melons, peppers, eggplant, okra, etc.
10. Most plants grow best when seeds are sown directly to the ground: corn, carrots, beans, lettuce, etc. I like to start tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, peppers and tomatoes in pellets and pots indoors. That gives them a headstart, especially for plants that need more time than your season allows. There are lots of kits available to help you out. Just ask at a garden center.
11. If you aren't ready to start your own seedlings, there are many places you can buy plantlings ready to put into the ground or potting soil: Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe's, any local nursery, a flea market. You might even check Craigslist for seedlings.
12. Some plants do better when you start them or buy them ready to plant: cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. Cucumbers and squash kinda don't care - either way is fine. Wait to buy the seedlings until your garden area is prepared, and you have the time to plant them. Try to do it within 3 days. Buy healthy strong-looking seedlings, that stand up straight. No yellow leaves or bug holes.
13. Rotate! Don't plant all of your carrots all at once. Plant maybe 20 one weekend, then two weekends from then, plant another 10 or 20, and two more weekends another 10 or 20. That will give you a constant supply of fresh carrots. We plant about 5 radishes every 2 weeks - just enough for Hubby to have a few for salads every once in a while. We plant about 20 bunching onions every 2 weeks because we LOVE them for our salads and cooking.
14. Get your whole family involved. Radishes grow very quickly and almost pop up our of the soil when they are ready. Bean seeds sprout pretty quickly and grow almost measurely daily. Great for children to see. Have the winter squash vines grow starting at each side of a trellis, to meet in the middle, with fruit hanging down. Lean three long sticks together, tie at the top, and plant beans at each stick to grow into a living hideaway teepee. Make a small "corn maze" (pun intended) for your kids to pretend to get lost in.

Don't think of it as a chore. Think of "Backyard Grocery" gardening as...

• a way to provide wonderful produce for your family
• no e-coli to worry about - it's safe (unless you use the wrong manure and let it splash onto your produce!)
• you will fertilize with good organic compost (either you do or buy) so you know your vegetables are getting good vitamins and minerals
• producing your own produce is cheaper in the long run than buying at the grocery store
• no transportation costs or delays from ground to table
• you can eat it freshly picked at it's peak of ripeness
• it's good exercise for the whole family

Do you want to take better care of your family? Find a little bit of land (even 12x12 feet will work) and do something with it. Plant "edibles" instead of flowers, or WITH the flowers.