I had planned to post on Lent today. Our family has never really observed Lent but this year we are starting to. I'll share more about it later. I've just ordered my garden seeds and my head is caught up in the imagined smell of tomato vines and the feel of sun on my back.
Gardening absolutely does not come easy to me. Quite a few things do, and it is normally much more like me to stick to the things that I'm instantly good at, rather than persevere to gain skills. BUT I didn't move out to this 7.5 acres to watch it grow nothing but hay. I also find the sheer amount of gardening advice to be completely overwhelming. So I have pretty much stopped reading anything about it and instead look up specific issues if needed and go with trial and error.
This will be my third year with a garden. The first year was disatrous. I was working and spending all our free time at the lake. Wow! Weeds sure do grow fast! We got lucky with zucchini and sungold tomatoes that year, and that was it. Last year I stopped working in June and had more time for the weeding. It was easier and better than the first year.
This year, I'm trying out an online garden planner from Mother Earth News. The best part about it for me is that it tells you when to start seed, direct sow and plant. I plant a main garden somewhat near the house and lots of herbs in pots on the porch. New for this year I'm planting a pumpkin / winter squash plot out behind the chicken building. Left by the house's former occupants we also have a large rhubarb bed and several small asparagus beds. Here's the plan so far for my main garden. Note where it says "rhubarb" is acutally "rhubarb chard", "corvair" is spinach and "mowing" is lettuce mix. If you double click on the image you can see a larger version.
