2012 Garden Plan

I finally finished my Garden plan for 2012! Just in the knick of time... with the unusually warm winter I might be trying to get into my plot at the end of this month or early next month to get a jump start on this years gardening.

I'm doing something different this year: I sketched out, in 2 week intervals my garden plan from Late March/Earl April - Late September. Though it was fairly tedious I found it to be a great constructive exercise that allowed me to use the space available as effectively as possible.
My first season lacking any real knowledge I severely over planned and last year I only made a rough list of  what I wanted to grow and winged it for the most part. This year I am trying to strike a balance between over and under planning.
Sketching out the Garden in 2 week intervals allows me to produce an 'ideal' road map if all goes according to plan and the weather cooperates. It also let's me adjust plans on the fly as life and weather dictate my gardening time - one of the challenges of gardening in an urban community garden!
I'm ready to start growing! I just need to find the time to get to the garden and see how it looks after an unusual Winter.

Plotting & Scheming

It's time. By now most of the seed catalogs have found their way to my mailbox and I am ready to turn toward spring and start to plan out the garden for this year! I knew it was time to transition from daydreaming to actual planning when my Membership Renewal arrived in the mail from the Fenway Garden Society last week.
Earlier this week I took a look at the Grown Away seed box to determine what, if anything, will have to be ordered a head of time. For such a small garden space I've built up a fairly good stock of seeds allowing for plenty of variety when planning the garden for this year.

Grown Away seed box.

For such a small garden space I've built up a fairly good stock of seeds allowing for plenty of variety when planning the garden for this year. I plan on only ordering a few herb seeds to replenish what is depleted from my supplies, but when looking through the garden catalogs and reading about the grand plans of other gardeners who knows what I will actually end up with!
Once the concrete plans actually take shape I will make an attempt to share them before the fun (hours and hours of weeding) actually begins.

Have you started planning your edible garden yet? Will you try growing anything new or different this season??

Great Black Friday Seed Deal - 70% Off Seeds of the Month Club.

On Tuesday over at GrafixMuse's Garden Spot this great deal was shared.

On November 25, 2011 between 5:00am and 3:00pm EST, if you order via the link below and use the referral code: Holiday you can receive 70% off a membership of 1 year or longer (Sorry, not valid on lifetime memberships)!

All seeds are non-gmo, open pollinated heirloom varieties that have been tested for a germination rate of 95% and higher. The seeds mailed are customized to your location and climate.

For more info check out GrafixMuse's original post on the seed of the month club!

To order, visit this post at GrafixMuse's Garden Spot and follow the link for the black Friday sale!

Seeds Orders & Garden Planning

My seed order from Johnny's is relatively small for the spring but it definitely has an unexpected surprise.

Mostly we stalked up on herb seeds: Garlic Chives, Rosemary, Sage, Cilantro, Chives, Parsley, Thyme, Basil, Arugula. The Cilantro, Chives, Parsley, Thyme, Basil, & Arugula come as a collection of biodegradable herb disks made to be grown in containers.

I also ordered Mini Broccoli(Happy Rich) and Leek(Tadorna) seeds as well. The leeks are going to be started on the kitchen counter as soon as they arrive. Finally, the last part of the order is the unexpected surprise: Horseradish!!! I ordered a set of horseradish roots (5 total) which I will be planting in the space that will be freed up by many of the herbs. Hopefully the little horseradish experiment works. If so, come fall I will have enough to make my own horseradish as well as a supply of roots for the following year!

Along with the seed order I've also sorted through my seeds and have begun planning the layout/schedule of my garden.

Already in the ground is my garlic and Egyptian onions. Hopefully both will produce edible results as well as viable seed!

In addition to the herbs, mini broccoli, leeks and horseradish here's a good idea of what I'll be growing based on the seed I have on hand:

Bush Beans (Fresh Pick), Dry Beans (Ottawa Cranberry & Vermont Cranberry), Kale, Dill, Spinach (Bloomsdale), Butterhead Lettuce (Red Cross), Mustard Greens (Ruby Streaks), 2 different Greens Mixes (Johnny's Elegance Greens & High Mowing Mesclun Mix), Beets (Detroit Dark Red), Radish (Champion), & Carrots (Scarlet Nantes).

Lot's of greens and plenty of variety in that mix. In addition to the seeds I will be getting tomato, pepper, and some flower seedlings from a local farm.

Up for debate on planting is another attempt at cucumbers and zucchini (both of which were serious failures last year), as well as Swiss chard.

Missing from what I tried last year: full size broccoli, cabbage, onions, and potatoes. The broccoli and onions produced poor results while the cabbage took up valuable room and the results were less then impressive. The potatoes were fun to grow, but my little plot doesn't have the room to successfully grow them. With more space I would definitely try them again.

Looking back at the list it seems pretty daunting for my little plot, but I'm eager to take the lessons I learned last year and see how much further my knowledge and experience can take me in the upcoming year. Despite my plot currently being buried under multiple feet of snow I am looking forward to getting to work and building upon the great results I experienced last year.

Looking Ahead.

A quick look at the calendar indicates it is smack in the early stages of what is shaping up to be a real winter here in Boston. With two major storms having already passed through Boston, and a third just around the corner it is difficult to look towards spring, but the time is here!

The seed catalogs have been coming in for a month already, with a few more arriving each week. Over the next few weeks I will be going through my seeds, contacting local farms about seedling sales, and browsing the catalogs while imagining fruitful harvests and warmer temperatures!

As the next bout of snow rolls in this weekend I will be sitting with a cup of delicious coffee or tea and sorting through my seeds and marking up these seed catalogs as a plan begins to form in my head and on paper for the forthcoming year.

It will only be my second year of gardening but I am excited to see where the lessons and skills from my first season will lead to greater success in year 2.

What's growing for the fall?

As planting spaces open up throughout the plot we are slowly transitioning/planting fall crops. Here's what we have in the ground as of Sunday:
Kale - We were gifted 5 seedlings from fellow community gardener Marie (who provided our leeks at the start of the season). 4 of the 5 are doing really well!
Bush Beans - We planted a row of organic Fresh Pick bush beans. These are a Jade type green bean.
Butterhead lettuce - The Romaine was incredibly successful at the start of the season. Hopefully the Red Cross butterhead we planted will produce as well. Red Cross produces a mix of crimson and green heads.
Mesclun/Baby Greens - A mixed bed of Johnny's Selected Seeds Elegance Greens Mix, additional Ruby Streaks mustard greens, and Surrey (Arugula/Rocket with a 'wild arugula' look)
Onions- Egyptian/Walking Onions of course!
Beets - more Detroit Dark Red Beets! They were slow to mature and undersized in the spring because we planted late, hopefully this crop will yield larger end results.
Radish- A few interspersed plantings of Champion Radish
Spinach- A 2nd attempt at Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach. Our spring/early planting suffered from our lack of experience and weed identification skills. Trying again in the hopes of better results.

As more space opens up I'll fill it with more greens/fall type crops.
What's to come in your fall garden?

Thinking about fall...

Yea, I know it's mid summer and we here in eastern Massachusetts are on the doorstep of another lovely heat wave, but I've started to think about what to plant for the fall.

Truth is I really have no idea.
I'd like to plant some garlic in the fall, and I have some kale from a fellow gardener, but I've got to really think about what to plant soon that will be ready during the fall.
I've come up with: Radish, Carrots, Beets, various lettuces, but besides that i'm not sure.

Any ideas?