Thinking About Starting A Garden? Start Planning NOW!

With a snowstorm hitting us right now,it's hard to start thinking about veggie gardens. It seems like the snow will never melt and the weather will never be warm enough. Before I started gardening,I would receive the random seed catalog in January and think that it was waaaaayyy too early to even entertain the thought of starting a garden.

WRONG! NOW IS THE TIME!

Gardening takes planning,homework,and organization. You need to consider:

-What you want to plant ( word to the wise-plant only what you will eat...don't plant something that is a waste of energy and food)

-What type of garden you want (row? raised bed?) What do you need to buy to get it started in the spring and how long will it take to prepare?

-How big your garden will be ( Best advice I ever received about gardening: START SMALL! Thank you,My Dear Friend Michelle!)Don't start off big,you will get discouraged and burnt out.

-Are you going to can any of your harvest? Sell it?

-What plants need to be started inside and what dates they need to be started by

-Do you want winter veggies? We are attempting it this year,and are ready to start reading up on it. We want to build a cold frame with our old sliding doors.

-Spring and summer are very very busy.We barely had time to breathe until August,between getting the raised beds built,sifting compost,planting seeds,and seedlings.When things start growing, weeding, harvesting and canning takes time. If you are planning a summer trip,make sure you have someone to care for your garden. We couldn't get away last year until August,and then we did so because we had Brother B to help out with weeding,etc.

There is more to gardening than anyone realizes until they actually attempt it. The work is more than worth it,however,when you can feed your family food you have grown yourself.

Next post will be about seeds and seed starting. Have a great day!!!!!