|
|
|
It’s time to plan the vegetable garden! We’ll be spending time over the next week looking through the seed catalogues and deciding what to plant this year. It’s so much fun to see all the different things we could grow!
Last year we used all heirloom, organic seeds for the very first time. We started the large majority of our seedlings ourselves, but didn’t have great success with transplanting many of them to the garden. Then there were the bugs that ate through many of our carrots and parsnips, the wet streak in June that ruined the majority of our potato crop (and heirloom seed potatoes are expensive!), and the blight on our tomatoes. We certainly have some adjustments to make, both in varieties of plants we choose and our transplanting process. We did have some successes though, and hope to use the seeds we saved from our favorites that produced well – Kentucky Wonder green beans, a butternut squash variety with the best flavor we’ve ever tasted, and some delicious snap peas. Our lettuce, buttercup squash, popcorn and sweet potatoes all produced fairly well, too.
This year we hope to use all organic, heirloom seeds again. We want to continue to hone our gardening skills, correcting mistakes from last year and building on the knowledge we gained. We also prefer that our food come from non-GMO sources whenever possible, which is why we choose heirloom. However, I am going to allow myself the flexibility to purchase plants if our transplants don’t work out! A good harvest is more important for me than sticking to heirloom seeds this year.
What about you? What are your garden plans this year? I’d love to hear about it!
Joey Norsen is a hopeful homesteader, military wife and mom. From recipes and organic gardening, to chickens and do-it-yourself ideas, Joey will be sharing her experiences (and challenges!) as her family seeks a simple, more self-sufficient life.
