January Jump-Start (Garden Dream and Plan Thread)

[treerooted]

My dad needs my plant amounts for starting seeds, so I've got to do some calculations on my different beds.

I finally decided on the new garden space is going to be 20"rows and 20"paths.

I'd like to do some succession planting this year,either of the same crop or different. So that probably just means lots of lettuce plantings.

Need to get out the graph paper....

 

[NH Homesteader]

You are so organized! When my seeds get here I might think about what's going where.... Maybe, lol.

I am very much looking forward to having a small, manageable garden.

 

[treerooted]

Ha, it's the idea of being organized. Whether or not I actually do organize is yet to be seen. But the intention is there...

I want to get some plans established this year, as we're hoping to have a new addition sometime next year and I'll be in the same boat you are now.

Manageable is good!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I am very much looking forward to having a small, manageable garden.

Me too - sorta, lol. I want to have a small area that I can manage a little more intensely than usual - but I want to have a larger area for space grabbing veggies such as corn and squash/pumpkins. I'm planning on using the area that I have a couple pigs in for that. Hopefully - if my life is back to some semblance of normalcy by then!

 

[NH Homesteader]

We're kind of just going to plop some pumpkin seeds in the old pig pen and let them do what they're going to do. And instead of planting a zillion tomato plants, I'm buying about 6 starts and intensively managing them. We have a habit of planting too much and not keeping up with it. So, smaller but hopefully we'll be more productive in the end.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sounds like a plan to me!

 

[Beekissed]

That's what I need to do this year...commit to being organized on my planting schedule. I'm going to incorporate a planting calendar over my potting table so I can see clearly when the next plantings of what should be going into trays. I think that's been my biggest problem in the past with succession plantings, is calculating the maturity times of the plants and already having another set coming up right behind those that are picked.

It's the only way to do it without incredible waste. It's going to require a little forethought and action on my part that I'm not prone to do...but I really, really want to succeed at it this year. I think if a person can just make it a routine associated with their gardening, that they could work into a rhythm that wouldn't seem so hard to remember and stick to. Sort of a garden muscle memory.

 

[treerooted]

With you Bee.

If only someone would just come and lay that plan out for me I'd be happy to follow it!


Any chance I got today I was trying to make decisions on my garden plan. I have no idea how much of each I should plant so I'm winging it I guess. My "clay garden" is the work in progress, and nothing may grow, but I'm trying to lay things out with the future in mind. Keeping away from too many cold storage crops as I don't have a root cellar. But extras to freeze and can are ideal. And actually, as I'm typing this I'm remembering that the squashes are fantastic for the chickens, so really it's fine if there's lots of those too. Guess I'll just plant lots of everything!

Did someone say manageable?

 

[Mini Horses]

I have a chart that says the "aver" yield per plant means you need X many per person. Helps a tiny bit. Production per plant is more helpful. So you need to decide how much you prepare of each item per week. More to consider than 3 deer, 1 pig and 50 chickens.

If a fam of 4 and you have corn 3xwk, using one pint per time....Get the picture? I mean most people estimate but, have an idea of how much/many times they eat an item. Once you decide you need to cover 6 months of 3 pts a week....it's 75-80 pints. PLUS what you eat fresh to plant.

LOL We have to be math experts to garden!!

REALLY...we just need to try to cover what we buy that we eat a LOT, or that is super $$$ or us, what we can store easily, what we can substitute for other stuff. Now you see why oldsters never wasted even one little bean!! They didn't have the stores we do. When you get to the nitty gritty of it, you can see why the eggs you collected a night look like a real good idea for supper. Use what you have. It's a challenge.

Mother Earth News has a gardening app (course it is NOT free) that will lay out your garden, tell you when to plant, start plants, what to follow, etc. Even sends email reminders. That's more "help" than I want. LOL Now, if they would come hoe & pull weeds......

 

[treerooted]

Yes, full year efficient garden plans are an exercise in math!
I have a clipboard with graph paper and a calculator beside me lol

I've got a few too many variables going on right now to worry about getting overly precise, so like you mentioned mini it's mostly about growing what you like to eat! I think it takes a few years too, to make observations about how things grow and what works well for you. I'm excited to be starting what I hope will be a life-long pursuit here on this land. All my other gardens always felt so temporary and I never really wanted to invest too much into them as I knew I'd be moving on.

So in the clay garden I'm planting in rows:
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Daikon Radish
Kale
Lettuce
Pea
Snap Beans

And then a winter squash patch

Might try some potatoes to help break up the soil