Planning the Garden

This time of year, that funny little window of time between February and March, I find myself dreaming of the garden. It's hard not to: all those catalogs arriving daily by mail, each with farmer-porn pictures of all the lovely fruits and veggies you can grow "right in your own backyard!" It's hard to narrow down the order to what will actually fit into said backyard. So far, I think I am doing good. I have placed orders with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Henry Field's, Jung Seed Company, St. Lawrence Nursery, and FedCo Seeds/Moose Tubers. From Jungs, I have ordered assorted small-space squashes and some miniature hybrid sweet peppers that I think will be good to grow in containers. From Henry's, I've ordered a pair of Manchurian Bush Apricots (pictured above), which are supposed to produce heavily on bushes, rather than trees, and are tolerant of very cold temperatures. I have two heirloom apple varieties (Duchess and Wolf River) and Northern Blue plum on order from St. Lawrence Nursery--so excited about THAT order, $20 per tree and sharing shipping with another local family! This year is turning out to be heavy on the orchard-side of things, with apple, apricot, plum, and crabapple joining the existing strawberry, blueberry and currant plantings. I figure I won't be in danger of getting scurvy. From FedCo (and the sub-company of Moose Tubers), I have all sorts of vegetables coming (shell beans, onions, greens, potatoes, tomatoes---not that I need them, but whatever...), which will add to my collection of heirloom varieties of squash, melons and cucumber that came from Baker Creek.

My garden plan is pretty simple: I try to plant good succession plants, in varieties that are naturally disease resistant (heirlooms) and will ripen before the summer growing season comes to a frosty end. I'll be building three new garden beds in the front yard, which will hold the squashes and sunflowers and some climbing beans, and having containers for the peppers and sprawling pickling cucumber. I am opting to dig up the latter end of the herb garden, between the mint and the black raspberry canes, and plant my basil and tomatoes right up against the side of the house. That bit always goes to weeds every stinking summer, so I have to turf it up again anyway--might as well make it productive while I am working on eliminating the recurring weed growth. I figure, it is south facing and against a reflective wall, so both tomatoes and basil (which LOVE LOVE LOVE heat) should be happy. Maybe I will not have so many predators going after my 'maters if I plant them in among the fragrant herbs. I don't seem to have many pests in there, since nothing much wants to eat the strong flavors of mint, taragon, chives or marjoram. (I'm hoping I'll do better keeping an eye on flowering amongst the basil with the daily walks past the herb bed to do chicken chores....) My list of spring "to-do's" is growing: Revamp the nest boxes and doors of the chicken coop; build 2-3 cold frames for greens; buy materials to make raised beds in the front garden area; arrange for a delivery of composted manure to fill said raised beds; clean up last fall's garden debris and prep beds for this year's season. All I need now if for the snow to start vanishing and warmer weather to show up, so I can get outside and work on these projects!