2013 Garden Season!

Let the Gardening Begin!

It's official: I have begun planting.

The season had it's kickstart last week when hubby took the tractor into the garden to plow it up. Then on Saturday, we went seed shopping! When we got back to the house my mother in law and her hubby were already there, tilling up the garden. SO much thanks go out to them for bringing over the tiller, I know they have their own garden that needed tilling as well, so I really appreciate them taking the time to do mine. So the garden is nice and freshly tilled, the ground looks great, and this huge garden is ready for planting!

The garden, freshly tilled, and the hoses run back to the sprinklers.

While we were at the store though, we picked up a few other things besides just seeds. Things that are going to make THIS planting season better than ever!

First off, we got a greenhouse! It's a little walk-in greenhouse with a zippered door and 16 shelves.

We also got potting soil, seed starter trays, a watering can, and a spray bottle. Now I am all set, not only to plant my vegetable garden, but also to have herbs (and strawberries!) that will have a safe place to grow.

So... what am I planting this year, you ask? Well, I'll tell you! =)

For the Garden:
I'm doing much the same things I did last year, but in smaller quantities to allow space for new veggies as well. I'm doing sunflowers, corn, tomatoes, peas, green beans, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, bell peppers, a hot pepper mix (jalapeno, cayenne, and others), squash, watermelon, cucumber, cantaloupe, and pumpkin. I'm doing ONE packet of squash though; not the two full rows of overkill that I did last year. Last year, I had so much squash, I couldn't give it away fast enough and we ended up with cartloads that we were setting up as targets for shotguns. That is WAY too much squash! I was cutting it up to feed to the animals and even they were getting tired of it!
This year, I am also plotting it out a bit differently, so that my vines (cantaloupe, pumpkin, watermelon, and cucumber) don't grow into each other... or at least so they don't crowd each other out. I'd rather climb through separate patches of them than have to wade through a jungle of intertwined vines and fruits.

For the Greenhouse:
The greenhouse is mostly for my herbs, but also for things that we didn't think would be safe out in the garden by themselves. My herbs tend to grow very well at first, but midway through the season they don't get watered, or the wind knocks them over, or the animals tear them up... Well not this year! They are safe and sound and warm in my little greenhouse. It has only been set up for a day and a half so far but I went into it this morning and was happy to feel how warm it was in there, and even though the wind is howling outside, it doesn't penetrate the safety of the greenhouse plastic walls.
The herbs I am doing this year are: spicy basil, sweet basil, oregano, lavender, spearmint, chives, single leaf parsley, triple curled parsley, cilantro, sage, and catnip. That last one there is for my kitties, of course. =) I was looking for chamomile but couldn't find it anywhere. If I manage to get ahold of some seeds I'll grow that too, I'd like to make my own herbal tea this year. Also in the greenhouse I have a packet of habanero pepper seeds... we wanted to make sure they grew well and that we would know them 100% from the other peppers... they will be hot, and I don't want to pick one thinking "oh this is just a small bell pepper" then have some REALLY hot lasagna, hahaha!
We bought some small strawberry plants and a few bags of strawberry seeds, and I'm going to keep those in the greenhouse, too. I don't want any animals getting to them and I know how much squirrels and rabbits enjoy them. I have never been able to grow strawberries (though to be honest I haven't given it a serious try) so this will be the year.

There are a few other things we have going on this year. Mike bought me a lemon tree, that is to stay in a pot, and it is in the front yard. Also, last summer we visited my dad and his fiance in Utah. While we were there we got to meet her parents, who have multiple Apricot trees in their yard. I got to take home lots of bags full of of apricots (which I then made into jam) and I still have a bag full of apricot stones (the pits inside them). Well, I want to try to grow apricot trees.
 I am well aware that they do not produce fruit until their third or fourth years. But see, that's part of the wonder of gardening. You get to watch something grow, and if you treat it right, it will reward you! It also teaches you the virtue of Patience. Of course, I know nothing about growing apricots. So I did some research, and it turns out that it is going to be quite the test of patience just getting the stones to sprout! I have to put them through a sort of "false nature" trial, where I soak them over night, then wrap them and put them in the fridge for a full month! It is supposedly to mimic the act of the fruit falling to the ground then going through a cold winter. When I take them out of the fridge and plant them in the soil, it is like spring has come, and they should begin to grow. Well, we'll see.
I have taken 32 stones (about a quarter of what I have) and they are in the kitchen soaking right now. Tomorrow they will go in the fridge, and in a month we will put them in the greenhouse to get ourselves some Apricot plants going!

Okay well, that's the plan. As of this morning, I have planted the herbs in the greenhouse. It's a bit too windy today for my liking, so I'm going to wait on the garden planting until tomorrow. Once I get to the store and get a few more seed starter trays, I'll transplant my strawberries and plant the strawberry seeds. Good thing I won't need the trays for the apricots for another month! I'll get you an update just as soon as the rest of the garden has been planted. =)

Now get out there and grow things! ^_^