Temp: 33*F
Feels like:24*F
Humidity:61%
Wind: WNW 13 mph

It snowed today. The frost blankets were still in place over the perennials.

I must've hurt my neck while I was asleep. I woke up and got a shooting pain if I turn my head to the left. It's still there, so I have rested all day and not done anything except update my amazon wish list. I am working on making that the go-to source for all my internet wants.

Also, yesterday was Christmas and I got a couple juicy items for the garden. Like a watering wand, grow light bulbs, a water donut for a tree, and some resource books for canning, preserving, and country wisdom. I also got things for baking. A cookie press, a cupcake decorator, and a creme brulee torch.

I am getting so excited for Spring. However, I was really renewed by the snow today.

Jerry Baker says that today is the day to spread grass seed. He recommends doing it right on top of the snow to gauge coverage.

Also, some flower seeds were added to my wishlist. The sugar maple is on there too. I see the snow, and really wish we were able to be sugarin', so to speak.

I decided that I will take on and adopt a new skill once a year. For instance next year, I am going to learn all there is to know about food preservation. Another year, I may perfect making homemade soap or knitting. And the whole year will be devoting to learning, practicing, and developing that particular skill. From January 1 to December 31.

I am going to spend this year learning and troubleshooting the garden. That is because a couple of our plants won't be fruiting or producing for a couple years, and I need to learn how to make things grow healthy before I can think about preserving them. So, anything from this summer that we have in excess will be given to friends and neighbors. And over the fall and winter, we will buy our food as usual. I just want to be sure to not divide my resources until I have everything down. It will be an accumulation of real, gritty understandings over a lifetime.

I plan to learn, grow and develop organically. To develop myself over time instead of with major projects that fizzle out quickly. The garden has to be first because it has taught me to let my passion run rampant, and give it endurance. Gardening has taught me to research, to plan, and to wait. I am still learning to wait. And to plan.

All in all I picture myself growing, building, making, baking and creating my life and my things. I want a homemade life full of art and life and vibrancy. I want a country cottage home, with flowers, artwork, warmth, texture and humanness. My life will be an exercise in creating it.

New Life Emerges

Today's Temp: 46* F
Feels Like: 46* F
Humidity: 31%
Wind:0





So, last night, while misting the seedlings, I was getting worried, because there were not any sprouts at all. This morning, I awoke to 2 new sprouts, and by the time I am writing this, 5 little tomato plants have reached themselves out of the ground.
Outside, the little sprouts covering the bed in the front yard are rigorous and green, and we have bulbs starting to poke through the surface.

I was so excited, that Zen and I decided to plant the jasmine we "gathered" the other day. He got a little bit frustrated because their "hair" came off when he pushed the seed into the ground. He kept adding more seeds to each part until they all had their hairs sticking out.


*It was a nice lesson for him. When we split the pods to remove the seeds, the hairswere flat and all pointed straight up. After a couple days in the envelope getting oxygen, they spread out and fluffed up. It opened a dialogue about how plants make their seeds travel and grow in new places. We talked about how amazing it is that seeds can fly, be burned or frozen, or need to be eaten to grow.*

The Closeness of Holidays...

...have made me largely unproductive. And I don't know if it is the dormancy of winter, but I want to hole up and not come out until Spring.

On a lighter note, during Zen's visit to see Santa at the mall yesterday we stopped by a Yankee Candle Company store and they had a bunch of molded paper trays for shipping the candles, which are much deeper and will be fabulous for starting seedlings that will get pretty big before we can put them out. Plus, it saves them from a landfill, and they were free. Which is always good... She said they have tons and to come by whenever I need more. (Yay for YC company!!) Try your local stores to see if they are able to let you have any.

Planting in the paper containers reduces transplant shock because you can plant them directly into the ground without disturbing them. Plus the paper degrades faster than the peat pots in my experience. Plus once broken down, the paper provides organic matter that is great for amending poor soil structure.

Anyway, I have noticed that I have no appetite lately. Nothing looks good. It;s like all I want are fruits and veggies, but they are nowhere to be found. It's like everything tastes bland and heavy. I even found myself adding cookbook after cookbook of light, produce-filled themes to my amazon wishlist. Apparently I feel like Latin/Central American or Mediterranean. I just am sick of gravies, and think sauces, and I want something that won't sit to heavily in my tummy.

So, my point in all this is that I am truly pining for late spring/early summer. It feels like I would rather not eat until then if I could. But I hear anticipation makes a tasty tomato... (actually I have never heard that, I am hoping)

So, I am looking into a couple other homesteading moves to try once the garden is stable and I am in a frame where I only have to maintain it. Building it takes too much time for anything else. I am thinking of swapping the decorative maple tree in the front yard out for another, ahem, variety. Like a sugar maple for instance. I have been reading up a bit on maple syrup production and it seems pretty straightforward. Plus, one tree, from what I understand will more than cover the needs of our family.

Second undertaking being considered is making yogurts and cheeses myself. I haven't started reading up on it yet, but I am intrigued to say the least.

Part of me thinks that this summer I will have enough to do, trying to make sure the garden does well, and learning firsthand about preserving the harvest. I know I have bitten off a big helping. So even if I put a sugar maple in the front, just to be growing and getting strong, I will have my hands full until I am confident in what I am doing.

I know I may sound like I know a lot on this blog, but it is all academic at this point. I have read every gardening book that I could get my hands on. But this summer will be the first year I have actually done it. And I have a feeling that when theory turns to application, it may get bumpy. And I look forward to you guys sticking with me to see how it ends up.

And when the time comes for new projects (probably next winter) I have a long list of stuff I want to learn how to do. In the spirit of conversation, here it is:
-sewing
-canning
-quilting
-drying/dehydrating foods
-making syrup
-making cheese and yogurt
-building simple furniture
-making soap and candles
-pressing flowers
-making paper
-crocheting and knitting

****OH, oh, oh!! I forgot to tell you, I was walking around yesterday, and found a Confederate Jasmine plant that had gone to seed. Zen and I snatched a couple seed pods and took them home. He had so much fun pulling out the seeds with their little white "Mohawks". So, coming up this spring, we will also have Jasmine (hopefully trailing happily along a fence).

I read about the seed-snatching in Martha Stewart Living. Apparently when she goes on her walks, she brings some glassine envelopes with her, so that if she finds a particularly beautiful plant, she is able to get some seeds (for free) for her own garden.I have adopted the philosophy, and we will see how it turns out...

Change of Plans...

So I was talking to my mom today, and instead of digging out at least 6 inches deep for the 15'x20' (approx) area for the corn, we are going to build up a (very, very large) raised bed for that section. My mom figured the cost for the materials would be about $54. Plus, do digging out the soil, and finding somewhere to stash the sand.

She went for the revised bean teepee construction, and once the bed is built for the corn field, the next project will be construction of the teepees. The first two things that are going to be planted outdoors are the peas and spinach at the first part of February. So we need the enclosure done for the corn area (and filled with soil), the teepees, and at least one bed by then. Then, if we can get a bed done, lined and filled each week after that we will be right on schedule.

Bed #2 got lined and weighted today. I will make a list of supplies (in priority order) to get the garden finished, and then go down the list as we are able, buying and constructing what we can. Then when we can get more, getting more and constructing that...

**I read (in one of my loads of gardening books from the library) yesterday that this guy gets an average of 125 tomatoes per plant with his high-yield system. And he gets similar yields from all of his plants. He went over N-P-K a lot, and how each help plants grow, as well as continuous planting among other things. I took some notes, but we will see if we can get that to translate on our lovely patch of land. It would be nice.**

I think I will do an entry about N-P-K values here soon, because I know when I first started researching gardening it was intimidating to me. I was far more likely to get the bag of fertilizer that says "Tomato Feed" than trying to figure out what the tomatoes in MY yard need, or why they need it. Much less try to figure out what the numbers on the generic fertilizers mean! It will be a basic overview of course, but enough to make you feel comfortable knowing what your plant needs, why, and what organic materials add it. (Keep an eye out!)

Progress and Ideas

So, the second bed is built and ready to be lined with newspaper.

In addition, Richard and I developed the plan for our bean and pea structures. We will be using 6 6-foot lengths of a dowel (2" in diameter). We plan to erect the 6 dowels vertically along the pea and lima bean beds equidistant apart. We will screw I-screws in the top of each dowel. Then threading twine through the screw hole, we run it down to stakes placed in circles around each pole, creating a maypole kind of effect. The peas and beans will be planted around each stake allowing several plants to climb up one string, and several strings per pole, and several poles per plot. This idea is the cheapest method as well as the the most effective that I can come up with.

A teepee structure erected of 5-6 bamboo poles would require far more poles per structure, and the thickness of each pole would block more light than the width of the twine would. So our way= less materials, more light penetration, greater ability to manipulate lengths of each string. With teepees, each pole has to hit the ground in a circle, equal lengths apart. But with twine (because they are not the support, they can be staggered as fits our needs and even overlap)

We also got the majority of our herb seeds (the popular ones that are found everywhere). And the planting calendar is done for the fruits, veggies and herbs. Flowers are going to have to be more intuitive and spontaneous. Here it goes:

1/7- Jalapenos and Ancho peppers sown inside

1/20- Broccoli inside
cabbage inside
cauliflower inside
celery inside
eggplant inside
bell pepper inside
tomato varieties inside
valerian inside
mint inside

1/21-Rosemary sown inside
2/3-lettuce, inside
mustard inside
peas outside
spinach outside
2/4- chives outside
echinacea inside
garlic outside
thyme inside
2/10- carrot outside
2/14- sage inside
2/17- cucumber inside
melon inside
onions outside
pumpkins inside
summer and winter squash inside
zucchini inside
2/18- okra inside
peanuts inside
stevia inside
2/24- broccoli outside
parsnips outside
2/25- echinacea outside
swiss chard outside
3/4- cilantro outside
parsley outside
sage outside
thyme outside
watermelon inside
3/10- cabbage outside
cauliflower outside
lettuce outside
mustard outside
3/18- beans outside
celery outside
3/20- potatoes outside
radish outside
sweet potato outside
3/25- cucumber outside
fennel outside
horseradish outside
green onions outside
oregano outside
pumpkin outside
squashes outside
strawberries outside
zucchini outside
4/1- corn outside
melon outside
okra outside
rosemary outside
tarragon outside
valerian outside
watermelon outside
4/8- ancho peppers outside
bell peppers outside
tomatoes outside
eggplant outside
luffa sponge plant outside
4/15- Dill outside
peanuts outside
jalapeno peppers outside
stevia outside
4/16- basil outside

I calculated the dates on the flower seed packets we have already. But instead of putting them on the calendar, I wrote the dates on the packets. That way I can know them by looking, and can decide at that time whether to use them or not. I like to have some flexibility to fly by the seat of my pants in some area! Plus, if I planned it all out then what would I do if I found a beautiful specimen while perusing at the garden center?? When I find stuff I like, I already have a chart that I made (based on companion planting guidelines)so I know good place to just plug them into the garden. For instance, daisies and snapdragons would find a home by the celery. Columbines by the rhubarb. These placings are based on which plants benefit each other in various ways.

Some plants attract insects that pollinate the veggie. Some attract bugs that kill bugs that attack the plant. Some return minerals and nutrients to the soil that the vegetable plant uses more of. Like corn takes a lot of nitrogen from the soil, so interplanting them with beans (which return nitrogen to the soil), we create a soil system that feeds itself and doesn't deplete the soil. Also, the corn gets the nitrogen that it needs. There are lots of ways that plants can benefit each other, and by using these relationships to our advantage we can fill our garden with the plants and bugs that serve us! Also by filling all the ground with plants, there is no room for weeds to grow or eat or breathe, thereby reducing weed problems. We can use plants as a living mulch (like clover) that keep our fruits off the ground, and keep moisture in the soil, and prevent erosion. Also after the season, we can till them under the soil, adding precious organic matter. Those ideas are the basic ideas behind companion planting.

And it is ideas like this that I will be relying on heavily in this year's gardening efforts.

The joys of garden mathematics and mess

So today was the cookie party, and we had one person show up. (With tasty chocolate macaroons, so it was not a total loss)... However, that took up a good chunk of the day.

I got a preliminary calendar for planting this season. It only covers the basic plants we will be growing, so I need to spend the rest of the evening doing the math for the more unique ones. (And boy, do I love math!)

From our local extension office, the almanac and some weather websites, It looks like the frost-free date in my zip code is approximately March 18. And given my propensity for patience, that is the date I am going with for my calculations.

The websites I found to be the most helpful (and packed with helpful information) are the following:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/

http://www.burpee.com/gardening/content/gygg/growing-zone-information/growingzoneinfo.html

http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/SC/Columbia

Richard says that he and I are going to get the next bed built tomorrow or Monday. We have all been passing around a nasty bug, and I have been eating Vitamin C like candy. So, chances are that it may be more like Wednesday.

Tomorrow my plan is to go out and clean up the yard, and do what I can while the ground is frozen. Honstly I may try to get the next section of patio done before my mom returns from Virginia. It was so embarassing to have a glass door and company in the same room. (There's a reason there are no recent garden pics for you to enjoy). I hear that things only get cleaner by first getting messier, but the interim is truly disturbing. The largest part that bothers me, I guess is the patio furniture that doesn't have a patio yet. It gets shifted around to whatever area we are not working on at the time. Which is predominantly why I want to get that part of the patio done. Because it is exactly 3 months until the frost free date, and that is not long to have the foundation ready.

I will post the garden schedule next post, and I made a special post that I will publish some time this week. In the meantime, feel free to ask me any questions, or throw some suggestions my way!

Holiday chaos begins...

So all I have really done today in the garden is pull up some of our dead annuals. The little sprouts in the front yard are holding on miraculously. Onions are doing well too, and I have an avocado growing roots by the window. And a Shasta daisy. And the tomato, pepper and celery seeds, which I mist regularly...

It is kind of busy today because of Zen's holiday party. We were going to bring cookies, but only a minority survived decorating. They were really fragile. So I decided to make molded chocolates, but did not make enough before I was ready to give up.

So now, we are making cupcakes and I am dangerously close to feeling done baking for the holidays, and we still have to cookie swap tomorrow. :(

I think I may nominate Richard to finish baking while I work in the yard, and I will come in to decorate. He, he, he... He would do it though. Poor guy.

Either way, tomorrow I am getting started on making another bed. Just one, but I want to get it done and lined.

Top 5 Repurposed Household Items! (+1)

Hey, so, after the progress in the garden from yesterday, we are dealing with business elsewhere in our lives today. (Business that I have been avoiding that really needs to get done). So, I plan to line the new bed, but otherwise nothing outside. So, in lieu of my garden stumblings, here is the promised entry about household items repurposed for the garden!


5.Pantyhose
There are so many uses in the garden for pantyhose. Everything from tying plants to stakes (the pantyhose doesn't damage them and flexes with nature) to supporting fruiting plants grown on a trellis like a hammock. It can be wrapped around little melons and such to prevent them form being eaten by slugs, and it will grow with the melon without constricting it. They harbor enough static electricity that they can actually re-energize your plants. They can be wrapped around the head of a sunflower to keep its seeds from scattering. They can be used to store onions and garlic after harvesting. Really the possibilities are endless!

4. Toilet Paper Tubes
Toilet paper tubes, when cut can prevent seedlings and new trees from cutworm and borers. They can be used to house new seedlings indoors. You can cover them with tape (sticky side out) and put them around the base of your plants, to catch small insects. It could also be fun to let your child decorate the tubes to add additional color to your garden, which attracts beneficial insects. All of these are in addition to the indoor uses you could find for these wonderful cast-offs. From corraling power cords to keeping hairties and bobby pins in one place. Their uses in the garden are only limited by your imagination.

3. Plastic Soda Bottles
This garden tool may not have many uses, but the use it does have is so important it still outranks our multitaskers. I have switched to drinking soda out of plastic bottles, partly because it is cheaper, but when empty they are invaluable in the home garden. I have even taken to collecting empty juice bottles from my son's school to use them at home. When empty, remove the label, and cut in half (or for a taller cloche, cut just the bottom off). Then use the halves (or top) to cover new seedlings while hardening off, or to protect them during an unexpected frost. leave the cap off, as it will allow for the plants to get air as well as preventing any mold or yuck that may start to fester without circulation. And when placing over your plant, push the bottle into the soil about 3/4" or so. I find that if I don't push the edge down into the soil though, the slightest wind will blow them off. Just a note.
2. Paper Egg Cartons
Once again, this is not a super-multitasker, but it has been vital in my gardening experience. I use these trays for indoor seed starting. They seem to hold up well to being wet, and the roots of the new plants slide through them like butter. You can plant them directly in the ground come spring, and they decompose better than most peat pots I've used. Also, my mom works in the computer industry and is always getting computer parts in the mail. I have taken to stealing the molded paper trays they use to hold the parts in the box for the same purpose. In fact, my onions are planted in 3 of them right now. If you choose not to start your own seeds, these can also be layered in a compost bin to add "brown" carbonaceous material, and the shape will keep air pockets that are necessary for effective decomposition. My problem is, though, that we don't eat enough eggs to have all the cartons I would use. I actually looked into some retailers of the paper egg cartons online, and for 150 of them it's about $35. And I will probably end up doing it.

1. Newspaper
This is number one for a couple reasons. Newspaper is the most effective weed-suppressing, biodegradable landscape fabric. It is the cheapest, and it breaks down the quickest, providing your soil with fresh organic material. I use shredded newspaper for mulch. I lay sheets of newspaper inside all my raised beds, to get rid of the mess the people who built our house call "grass". there are easy instructions online for creating seed pots out of sheets of newspaper. Newspaper can be substituted for floating row covers in the event of a frost. They also provide carbonaceous material in a compost bin (if your compost is on the "green" side (smells bad, kinda slimy). Newspaper is also the main ingredient in household worm bins. You will hear me over and over again, touting newspaper for it's versatility and how easy it makes gardening.

Now your freebie!! The best garden-loving repurposed item is... (drum roll)
**Food!**

Keep all of your fruits, veggies, and organic wastes where they need to be, nourishing your soil!! (No fats, grains, or animal products)Composting brings the circle of life into clear view in that we create the cycle of feeding the living by the products of the decomposed. I swear my neighbors think I am crazy when I ask for their banana peels, grass clippings and coffee grounds, but it is well worth it. It is super-easy, and you will be rewarded with fresh, nutrient rich soil that did not harm the planet!

First full garden update!

**Once a month, I will give you guys a full garden update. Here is your first one. It is long, but you will know everything going on with my garden**

I started my basic tomatoes, roma tomatoes, celery, and bell peppers inside today. I think it is half out of impatience and half because I have never really given these plants enough time to grow very large. I must admit, the bell pepper is a beast I have not mastered. I am a little anxious about whether we will have time to get all of the prep work done before planting time. We only have one bed made, and no supplies to even get a jump on the others. It is an expensive month to be living in though! I think if I get all of them built and filled by the beginning of March we will be okay. Because even if the seeds are started, they can't go outside until then anyway.

I am wondering, on another note, how our bulbs will fare, as they started sprouting before it really got cold. They seem to be doing fine. I can't wait until Spring when everything starts coming to life!!

I cut down the asparagus, covered the strawberries, and tacked frost fabric over the perennials for the winter. I don't know if that will help, or if it is at all necessary. At least they know I love them.

GARDEN WALK: The leaves on the apple tree are a gorgeous crimson shade of burgundy, and the blueberries have started to match. The blueberries are another thing I am worried about. I wish I had prepped the soil better before planting them. I am adding sporadic sprinklings of ammonium sulphate to try and acid it up enough for them. I think the bareroot plant experience just caught me off guard, and I need time to see how it all turns out. I wasn't expecting the plants to look the way they did. And then some pulled right out of it, so the ones that are slower to return to life have me worried sick. The hollyhocks are supposed to be able to survive cold, so I am not doing much with them. The plum tree still is not showing any signs of life (although at this point in the season, I wouldn't expect ti to start until spring anyway). The strawberries are limp (from being frozen) and from what my mom says, they left them unmulched when she was little, and they died down, but came back every spring just fine. The Venus fly traps (my carnivorous compost buddies) are turnign black, but from everything I have read, they are indigenous to the Carolinas and therefore, survive despite the frosts every year. I plan on getting some more carnivorous buddies for our compost area next summer. I love having unique plants (especially when ants fear them as much as ours seem to). The asparagus seems to be doing well after being cut, the stems are quite strong. I worried that I shouldn't have cut them to the ground their first year. There is tons of conflicting information about that. But I went ahead and did it. The citrus trees have all lost their leaves, and I fear I have killed them for good. The pear tree hasn't noticed it is cold out yet. The cherry tree has just paused its growth. The leaves are still green and healthy, just no new ones. The lavender seems to be doing well, I guess. I have no idea what to look for. It's not dead. The peach tree I think is storing up energy to explode in spring. I have dug down and seen new growth just under the surface. The rhubarb also looks limp from the cold, but I have faith it will come back. I can feel that the walnut trees are alive, but they are waiting to prove it.

Our banana plant is dead, I think. But I half expected it. The pineapple looks like it may pull through (I will plant some more by it this summer). The lilacs seems to be dormant, but alive, and the sprouts of flowers in the front will probably not make it. (too impatient to wait for spring, I planted them all as soon as I got them) I need to learn to wait. Seriously.

IDEA: I have been looking into maple syrup production, and one sugar maple in the front would supply our entire house :) I think if we rip out the decorative maple and just switch them out it would make a lot more sense. A starter's tapping kit is about $50 (or 5 bottles of syrup). My mom is terrified she will come home to homemade toilet paper I am sure!

BUSINESS: I have written the company we ordered our plants from twice now, with no response trying to figure out how to implement our warranty. It is frustrating. Some things I know will have to be exchanged, others are in the ground until Spring to see. But I would like to know at least what I have to do for the ones I know of for sure. Our raspberries, for instance, were dead on arrival. I am keeping all but one in the ground until spring though, for 2 reasons. One, I don't want to lose them. Two, if they were just in some state of hyper-super-dormancy, I don't want to return them needlessly.

December is supposed to be the month of cleaning and preparing, and it turns out for me that it has been the month of looking at the garden out the window because it is too cold to go outside. I started making a powerpoint for the sustainability consulting firm. Like an introduction to what we do. (I say we like it's plural, it's a bad habit.) It helped me get a better understanding in my head of the direction I want to go. So, if I decide to try to make it work, I am building a foundation.

All in all, getting the beds built and getting them full of soil is our number one priority right now. Later, I really, really want to switch out our stacked composter for a spinning one. The compost is too packed, and doesn't get enough air, and therefore doesn't generate any heat. Which means, no compost, just a pile of rotting food waste...

Hi there and hello...

I think it is fitting to start when the year is almost over, so I can follow this through with some sense of unity.

So here is some background:

We moved into our home in Columbia, SC this last May. It is the first time I have had any kind of space to work with outside. So it is possible I have bitten off more than I can chew out of sheer excitement and impatience. I will post a scan of the garden plan next post.

Sharing space with a play area for my son, and a patio, I will be using companion planting and intensive raised beds. We compost and rotate crops. I have no idea how much produce to expect, but you can find out with me, I guess.

We are having an uphill battle trying to remove this horrible, invasive thatch that the home builders covered our backyard with. It is an ongoing experiment how to get this stuff out, so we can grow anything else. We have had moderate success using a garden claw-style thing and pulling the chunks out and disposing of them. But it is hard work, and now it is freezing out.

Most of our edibles are going to be in the back yard, but I couldn't deny the precious real estate that the front yard provides. So we will be growing a few things there too. Largely though, my affections will be in the back yard. In the front we have 2 grape vines, a dwarf North Star cherry tree, and 3 of the 4 nut trees. The other will provide shade for the backyard play space.

This last fall, we bought 5 dwarf fruit trees. One Elberta peach, a 5-in-1 pear, Tartarian cherry, Damson plum, and 5-in-1 apple. Also we bought 4 standard size nut trees, 2 pecan and 2 English walnut. I am still waiting to see if a couple of them actually come out of dormancy. There is a one-year warranty on the entire order of plants and seeds that we got.

I have planted the perennials around the perimeter of the fence, so that the crops that need to be rotated are in the center, and easily changed from year to year. Our perennials so far include rhubarb, lavender, asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, and globe artichoke.

Our seasonal produce plan lays out space for two 3-sisters plots. This is where our corn (both Peaches and Cream as well as popcorn) will be interplanted with vine crops and legumes. We also have 8 raised beds which we will make ourselves. And since our soil is essentially beach sand, I will be filling it with a 50/50 soil compost mix from a local landscape supply company up the road.

The details will be in the layout that will be posted of the back yard. I am just on Richard's computer, and he doesn't have all my pictures...

Anyhow, what is going on right now in the garden is that we have built one bed (of the 8) so far. We need to buy more supplies, but I can see it waiting until after the holidays. I don't foresee starting an seeds until mid-January anyway. I put the protective coverings out on the perennials, and am working on preparing the ground where the corn will be going.

I have a feeling I will have to essentially dig a giant hole for the corn and fill it with the purchased soil/compost mix. I am not looking forward to that at all.

The one bed that we have made already will be for the onions. I laid newspaper pretty thick in the bottom, to try to kill the "grass" underneath without digging it up. I think it will be deep enough that even if the "grass" lives, it won't reach up to the roots of the plants in that bed anyway.

What needs to be done here pretty soon:
-I need to finish making the beds and getting them in place.
-I need to get all of our seeds ordered (and take advantage of free shipping promotions)
-I need to get my calendar together so I know exactly what day everything needs to be planted.
-The ground needs to be prepared for Spring (and really the yard needs to be cleaned all together)

**we are trying to expand the patio concurrently with implementing the garden plan, so there are paving stones, patio furniture, and gardening implements (not to mention Zen's toys) strewn all over the yard right now. I hope to have it cleaned up before planting time! ;)**

Next post soon!!
Come back and see what we're up to!