It’s hard to believe but planting season is right around the corner. I’m already looking forward to plots of bountiful leeks, peppers, sugar snap peas, and hot, hot, hot chilies of all persuasions.
As I’m sure it was for a lot of Americans, 2009 was a grim year for me financially. So I’m having to cut back on my seed buying this year. Which isn’t such a terrible thing because last year, my gardening collective and I — the Violet Femmes — ended up buying way, way, WAY too many seeds. I still have leftover leeks, sugar snaps, beets, radishes, fennel, celery root, parsnips, okra….you name it, I have it save for the basics like tomatoes, cucumbers and melons.
Plus I’m pregnant. And 50 additional baby chicks are due to arrive June 1. As ambitious as I am, how much gardening am I really going to have time for once all 51 babies arrive early summer? So I’m thinking a small garden is the name of the game this year, supplemented by a CSA.
Have you started thinking about your 2010 garden?
All original content © 2012 by Jessie Knadler
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
there are bulbs pushing there way up in our garden and seeing them makes me want to plant and plant. i only have a front yard though and i haven’t planted veggies in it before. i think i’ll try just get some herbs going at least. but i’m jealous of your ambitious seeding: even if less so than last year it looks pretty awesome to me!
Hi Talia: Don’t be too jealous. Last year turned out to be kind of a bummer because we got SO MUCH rain that a lot of the seedlings ended up drowning before they could really get going. So it was a lot of work for a lot of dead or underperforming plants. But that’s the way it goes, I guess! JK
We didn’t have a garden last year; planning our wedding took all our extra energy and time. This year we’re planning to fill the garden beds and maybe build a couple more beds. I missed home-grown vegies last year.
Cara: I call it gardener’s guilt, that feeling that you should be growing at least SOMETHING. Even if it’s just one herb plant. Good luck this season! JK
Yeah, 2009 was a grim year for the wallet and for the garden – the gloomy rain and the tomato blight wiped out most of my small garden. Like you, I’ll be doing hot peppers, leeks, sweet peppers, and tomatoes, but also a ton of beans, kale, chard, lettuce (love the greens) and might try some carrots for the first time.
I give up on the beets. Three years running they’ve underperformed, so they’re being cut from the team.
Hi Casey: About you and your beets: I’m about to do the same to tomatoes….”cut them from the team,” as you say. I only want winners in my garden! JK
2009 was a bad year with the almost non existant garden. My tomatoes and potatoes did not stand a chance and everything else gave a pretty miserable showing. We managed one nice pumpkin.
2010 promises to be a good year, I keep telling myself. I have tomatoes and peppers already started under the grow lights in the basement to ensure a good, strong transplant. And I will be experiencing spring planting with a 14 month old.
This should be interesting.
I too have seeds on the brain, especially tomatoes. And this year, I WILL can! (When does your book come out? I need it! Though I am happy to already have the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving that Mom got me for Christmas.)
Hey Eric: Great to hear from you. The book was supposed to come out this summer, but got pushed until April 2011. An entire year away. I’ll send you an autographed copy which you can probably someday sell for millions of dollars. JK