Try, Try Again

We didn't have a garden last year. And 2014 was a dismal failure due to drought. I don't know why we didn't have one last year as hubby didn't have a town job, but we didn't.  This year we're going to try again. 

We're not going big like we did before.  I think we bit off more than we could chew.  We're going to do what we probably should have done first:  grow enough food for us only.  I tell ya, that's taking a LOT of self-discipline!

Why?  Seed catalogs, of course.  I go through the ones we buy from (Shumway, Baker, and Burpee) and circle what I want with a marker.  My catalogs always have lots of circles but this year the majority have Xs through them:

• Nope, don't need 3 kinds of watermelon, even if this one is the size of grape tomatoes and would be SO cool (OK, they're actually mini cukes);
• No pumpkins.  Hubby doesn't like them and I don't have a good sales outlet. We can, however, have one variety of cantaloupe, hopefully trellised; we have lots & lots of saplings we could cut down and use.
• The chances of me making pickles is slim due to all the other food preservation I'll be doing, so only 1 kind of cuke: burpless for eating, also trellised;
•  Only 2 kinds of heirloom tomatoes: slicing, and Romas.  This really hurts because there are 3 or 4 more varieties that I love ):  ;
• Only 2 kinds of field peas, purple hulls and cannellinis.  And not hundred-foot rows of them, either! This one wasn't as difficult because these are the ones we eat the most;
• Squash: I'm having a REALLY hard time with this one.  Baker has a beautiful, yummy french white acorn that is awesome as both summer and winter; plus I've gotta have at least 1 variety each of zucchini, yellow crookneck and acorn. (Here's a cool tip for avoiding baseball-sized zucchini.)  There are two problems with the squashes and melons: squash bugs and quantity.  I have to plant very few of each kind in succession or I can't keep up with the bug killing (it has to be done by hand unless this works) and I will have to cook & can and/or freeze them every day. In 100F weather. Urgh.
• And the one that's just killing me: no sweet corn. I LOVE sweet corn. But the raccoons always get them, usually the day before I'm ready to pick.  I tell ya, looking at the corn during my evening stroll through the garden and thinking "Oh, the corn's ready, I'll pick it tomorrow" doesn't work.  Raccoons are telepathic.  They hear me think this and that very night they strip the corn patch. Honest to God!

Then there are the herbs.  Pinterest has been very helpful as I've never grown anything but chives and basil.  This year I want cilantro, dill and a few others. I've seen some pretty nifty herb garden pins, like this one - but I can't afford it so I'll probably go with something like this or this.  Although the second link is broken, the pic in the pin should allow us to make it if we choose.  Now I just have to choose one, get the materials and work with hubby to build one.

The greens will go in Dad's old garden area.  It's where he had his garden when I was a kid.  I hated it because my punishment was often "Go weed three rows of the garden.  And don't pull up any vegetables!"  Hmm, maybe that's why I hate weeding so much?

Anyway, we also want a perennial strawberry patch (this bed worked really well at our old house), and an asparagus bed or two.  These have to be located and our heavy soil has to be amended or replaced.  I'm not holding my breath for these this year.

There is some experimenting to do, too.  I want to grow some potatoes (white and sweet) in bales of straw, along with carrots maybe, and a few herbs that supposedly grow in the sides of the bales and disguise them.

There's snow on the ground right now, the perfect time for planning, buying and starting seed. We have to go through our leftover seed before we buy any.  Here's a nifty tool for figuring out when to start seed indoors or plant outside.  It says 2015 but you can use it this year, too.  And not only do we need to plan what goes where, we have to address companion planting (including what not to plant together) and succession planting dates.  Don't forget plants that attract pollinators, like orange marigolds to attract bees. (Speaking of bees, I'm studying beekeeping online at this great forum, BeeSource.  Don't know if we'll get two hives done but I'm going to try.)

So, thanks to all you great folks on Pinterest! And y'all keep your fingers crossed for us.  I'll keep you posted as we get moving on this.

Postscript:  

Dad: "Are y'all going to have a garden this year?
Me:  "Yep."
Dad:  "Where are you going to put it?"
Me:  "Well, if you'll quit planting pecan seedlings there, we're going to put one patch behind the barn."
Dad. "Huh."
Me:  "And greens in your old garden patch.  In rows this time - scatter sowing makes them hard to tell apart."
Dad:  "Huh."
Me:  "And field peas & such in the old horse pasture."
Dad:  "Huh.."
Me:  "Do you have anything to say besides grunting at me??"
Dad:  "Nope."
What can I say?  He's 90 years old now, and kinda grumpy. Love you anyway, Dad. 

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