… I had a dream last night that the strawberry patch I planted last year grew baseball sized purple strawberries. So cool.
But that’s not exactly what I’m talking about.
As our mailbox fills up with seed catalogs, my brain inevitably fills with incredible dreams of the possibilities for this year’s garden. And the more I think about it, the more I realize how important it is (today) to spend some time dreaming and reflecting. Reflecting on past years’ gardens, dreaming of tomorrow …
NOTE: See that picture of Abby’s greenhouse? I’m also dreaming of her garden … I can’t help it. She’s got a killer greenhouse and I look forward to the day when she can help me figure out how to build mine. (Put that on your to-do list, Ab. I’m gonna need lotsa help.)
I’ve been dreaming of all the roasted vegetable salsa, pizza sauce, pesto, broccoli salad, roasted beet salads, bone broth, tomato sandwiches, kale salads, kale crisps, green smoothies, roasted cabbage salads, fermented veggies, stir fries and grilled veggie sandwiches … the list is really too long, but oh so fun to let my mind wander …
And then I REFLECT on what was growing last year …
I didn’t plant enough garlic (which plants in the fall, so I took care of this by planting 40 more bulbs this year, devoting a 10ft x 2 ft bed entirely to garlic). I didn’t plan enough kale. I planted too many golden nugget squash. Too many zucchini. I always want more tomatoes. And I’m devoting an entire bed to herbs this year (in part because we’re getting chickens and I keep reading how beneficial herbs are to raising organic, unmedicated chickens who lay beautiful and healthy eggs!)
And then I do a REALITY CHECK …
Because as much as I love eggplant parmesan and I think roasted peppers are on my list of favorite veggie bits ever … my experience growing eggplant in Montana’s short summers has not been super productive. And my attempt at growing peppers?
Not so successful.
Unless (like Abby) you’ve got a greenhouse or a wicked cold frame, growing warm, Mediterranean deliciousness can be a challenge in Zone 4. I’m not saying you can’t succeed growing eggplant and peppers. My friend Chris is the KING of Montana eggplant. He gave me a start two years ago and it’s the only time I’ve ever successfully grown an eggplant in Montana. But I’ll be honest and tell you I kept that plant inside until July and then never moved it into the garden but let it grow in a pot on our back porch. I brought it inside if the temps were dropping below 45-50 degrees (more nights in the summer than I like to admit). And the yield from this Herculean effort? One. Small (4 inches, maybe). Beautiful. Eggplant. (That I did not photograph?!?!?)
Okay, so … reality check. Figure out what will grow where you live. (Don’t know your zone? Or why it matters? Click here to find out.)
And then think about your space … Where is your garden? How much room do you have? And what are you looking to accomplish?
We have limited garden space (10 raised beds of varying size in the backyard, a more freewheeling in-ground garden in the front yard (chives, mint, rhubarb, roses, tulips, a few ornamental bushes), and two garden boxes alongside our front porch which are already planted with strawberries and mint.
But I want to grow enough food to avoid the grocery store’s vegetables for at least a few months of the year. Not that I won’t buy avocados or ginger from the Coop because I can’t grow them in my backyard … I just like being able to walk outside or, once fall arrives, go to our cold storage and pluck out the food we’ll need for dinner. It makes meal-planning a lot easier when the choices are all right in front of me. So I’ve got to dream about all the foods we like to eat and then figure out how much of each thing we need to grow.
Which brings me to STEP TWO: PLAN (and order your seeds/starts)
And then on to STEP THREE: PLANT
STEP FOUR: TRANSPLANT (getting things in the garden)
And finally … the best step … STEP FIVE: HARVEST (and see your dreams come true!)
What are your garden dreams for 2014?
Want to know what goes in to planning a garden to feed a family of four for 6-8 months? More on that next week.
