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10 Adjustments I’m Making in My Garden

in Garden Planning· In the Garden· The Beginner's Garden Podcast

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You’d think after five gardening seasons, I’d have it all figured, right? (Cough, cough.) Well, that’s the beauty about gardening. Each year we get to adjust. We scrap what didn’t work; we try new things. The dreaming and the planning — those are some of the most exciting parts of gardening!

This year as I’ve begun my garden planning, I decided to make ten specific adjustments in my gardening:

10 adjustments I'm making in my garden

1.Seed Starting Indoors: I’ve changed my setup to growing both in front of a large, south-facing window AND under LED grow lights. I’m also going to delay planting my tomato seeds indoors until 6 weeks before my last spring frost.

2. Soil Temperature: I will test my soil temperature before planting my beans, corn, melons, squash, and cucumbers — even if that means delaying planting by a few weeks.

3. Fencing Method: I’ll take down the bottom wires of the electric fence and replace them with chicken wire to prevent the rabbits from enjoying my garden before I can.

4. Strategic succession planting: I’m planning ahead for which crops will go in after my peas, potatoes, onions, and lettuce are finished and harvested. If I don’t plan ahead, I won’t be ready!

5. Big Goals: I’m planning extra space for carrots and onions since two of my biggest garden goals include growing enough of these crops to last all season.

6. New Varieties of Tomatoes: Thanks to Mike’s suggestion in the last podcast, I’m going to try Black Krim and Arkansas Traveler tomatoes for the first time.

7. New Varieties of Pole Beans: Because my trusty Blue Lake pole beans didn’t perform as well last season, I’m going to try two new varieties this year and see how they do: Rattlesnake and Seychelles. (Related: Which should you grow? Pole beans or bush beans?)

8. Raspberries: The last few years haven’t given me great raspberry harvests, so I’ll be planting new ones this season. I hope to try the yellow raspberry, too.

9. Plant More Flowers: Because I want to grow a more diverse garden habitat with beneficial bugs, I want to attract them with flowers inside my garden.

10. More Organization: Instead of haphazardly ordering seeds, I calculated the amount of crops I wanted to grow, laid them out on my garden plan, and then ordered the amount of seeds needed.

I discuss them in detail in this episode of the Beginner’s Garden Podcast. Click below to listen.

Show Notes

Beginner’s Garden Shortcut Facebook Group ((OPEN TO EVERYONE))

Beginner's Garden Shortcut Facebook Group

LED Grow Lights I use: (*affiliate links)

Tao Tronics LED Grow Lamp

ACKE LED Grow Light

Soil thermometer

All-America Selections Web Site

Books by Jessica Walliser mentioned in the podcast:

 

The Beginner’s Garden Shortcut Online Course 

 

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Notice a difference between the cabbage seedlings Notice a difference between the cabbage seedlings on the left and the ones on the right?
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I just love testing different things in my garden, and for these seedlings I tested two treatments I’ve never tried before: foliage feeding and a “root dip” using the plant growth product, Organic REV.
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The plants on the left were untreated; the ones on the right were treated.
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A few weeks ago I filled a spray bottle with a diluted Organic REV mixture (per their instructions) and I sprayed the young seedlings on the right. They responded well and began to outpace the untreated group slightly — it was small but definitely noticeable.
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Then last Friday I transferred the seedlings into these larger pots, but before I did it, for the plants on the right, I dipped the root ball in a 50/50 REV/water mixture, saturating the soil and roots before transplanting. Again, the plants on the right were the only ones that got this root dip.
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The soil all plants are growing in is the same: a potting mix plus some Plant Tone organic fertilizer.
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It was after this root dip and transplant that the seedlings on the right started pacing much more ahead of the ones in the untreated group.
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While all the seedlings (treated and untreated) are growing in this fertile soil medium, what Organic REV is supposed to do is appearing to prove true — at least in this test. It helps plants more efficiently take up and use the nutrients that are present in the soil.
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Organic REV is now a brand partner of the Beginner’s Garden. They sent me their product to try first, and I’m continuing to test it in different ways.
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But what I’m sharing with you is my own experience and results. If you’re interested in their product, look them up here: @buyorganicrev Use my affiliate code JILL10 to get 10% off if you want to try it for yourself.
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#organicrev #foliarfeed #foliarfeeding #indoorseedstarting #indoorseedlings #pottingup #cabbage #cabbageseedlings #organicgardening #organicfertilizers
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to harvesti I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to harvesting from my garden in the winter. It snowed today, even! (Okay, just a dusting, and it already melted, but in central Arkansas, any snow is worth celebrating! 😂)
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Although I’ve grown cabbage in the spring before, this is my first time harvesting a fall crop. (My last two attempts were thwarted by hungry rabbits or rogue hens 😡.)
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I have several more plants that I’m hoping to harvest from now that the days are getting longer and maybe the heads will start growing again. And I also have a new crop started in my grow room.
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Four-season gardening may sound daunting but I assure you, fall and winter gardening is almost a hands-off endeavor. The only thing it really takes is a little planning (and some nurturing in the beginning).
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And the reward of picking from your garden in the winter (when your climate allows) can’t be overstated. It’s fabulous!!
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If you’re interested in learning how to incorporate more seasons in your garden growing, I have several exciting new resources coming up, starting with tomorrow’s first podcast of the new year on deciding if indoor seed starting is right for you!
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As much as I’m enjoying this winter harvest, I’ve already got one eye in spring! You, too? 😊
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#cabbage #growingcabbage #wintergarden #winterharvest #zone7b #arkansasgarden #zone7gardening #gardenplanning
This fall-planted parsley 🌱 has done really wel This fall-planted parsley 🌱 has done really well in my Greenstalk Vertical planter. I recently harvested the lower leaves and dried them for use in the kitchen. But the rest of the plant is still growing well, and I expect to harvest from it for months to come.
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I planted the parsley along with other plants in the Greenstalk planter in September. Although the lettuce is done and I harvested the celery, the herbs like parsley, cilantro, chives, and oregano are going strong!
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I LOVE that I don’t have to buy almost all herbs from the store, even in the winter.
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#herbs #parsley #herbgardening #greenstalkplanter #greenstalkverticalplanter #containergarden #containergardening #containerherbgardening #wintergarden #winterharvest #winterherbs #zone7b #zone7gardening
I’ve spent the better part of two days selecting I’ve spent the better part of two days selecting and ordering seeds for this year. My husband thinks my intensive research is a bit over the top. Maybe.... 🤔
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But here’s what I do:
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1️⃣ Select the seed companies I’ll purchase from. Most of my orders were from @southernexposureseed because I’m in the SE US and the varieties there fit my climate well. Next, I placed a large order from @territorialseedcompany (great selection, informative catalog, and some of the best prices). From there, I supplemented with seeds from @bakercreekseeds (high quality heirloom seeds, highly dependable, free shipping), @johnnys_seeds (unique varieties for different needs than I can get elsewhere), and @seed_savers_exchange (heirloom seeds with a great mission).
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2️⃣ I went through my top 3 catalogs, circling varieties I was interested in.
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3️⃣ I entered each variety in my Seed & Plant Research sheet from my Complete Garden Planner, noting unique characteristics, days to maturity, and price. (Not all seed packets are equal in quantity so it pays to be a savvy shopper.)
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4️⃣ I chose which seeds to purchase.
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I usually plan my entire garden before ordering seeds, but I was a bit nervous about the seed supply (thankfully only a few varieties were sold out), so I did my best in choosing what I’d need.
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The process was LONG but a great way to spend the last two days of 2020 — with HOPE for the 2021 garden season! 💕
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Have you ordered seeds yet? Where do you like to order from?
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(My printable Complete Garden Planner is available in my shop, link in profile.)
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#seedshopping #orderingseeds #gardenseeds #garden2021
#gardenplanning #gardenplans #seedcatalog #seedcatalogs #wheretobuyseeds #gardening #gardeningtips #gardentips
My greenhouse lettuce is coming along! 🥬 I expe My greenhouse lettuce is coming along! 🥬 I expect now that the day length ☀️ will be increasing, the growth will accelerate in the next couple of months.
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I think I planted these in early October, so you can see how slow they grow this time of year, even in the warmth of the greenhouse. But it’s so nice to see signs of growth and hope for future lettuce harvests! 🥬
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I’m almost to the end of my main fall lettuce, so I’ll be glad when these are ready to eat!
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#lettuce #greenhouse #greenhousegardening #wintergarden #wintergardening #greenhouselettuce #falllettuce #growbag #growbags #greenhousegardener #containergardening #containergarden #containerlettuce
Would love to hear your personal experience using Would love to hear your personal experience using shredded leaves as mulch! 🍂
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🌲 The trees on my property are mainly pine trees, so I’ve never had fallen leaves to collect and use as mulch. (That’s mainly why I use wood chips.) But when my dad offered to collect and bag up his leaves and give them to me, of course I said yes!
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Twenty-five bags later I realized I needed to figure out how to best use them. I knew they’d blow away if I just dumped them on the garden and they’d take forever to break down if I threw them in the compost pile. So I watched a few YouTube videos and settled on a leaf shredder.
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(A lot of people use lawn mowers to mulch their leaves but we don’t have a mower like that. I also tried the weed-eater as an immersion blender in a trash can idea once and it was a disaster.)
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I LOVED this leaf shredder! It was really easy to use and I shredded 25 bags in just a couple of hours. Most people shred the leaves into bags but I created a simple wired bin to collect mine, and I shredded the leaves directly into it. I applied the leaves to several beds already but I have half of them still in the bin to use later.
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How do you use fall leaves in your garden? I’m excited to try this method that I have enviously watched so many gardeners use over the years!
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#leafshredder #leafmulch #leafmulching #leafmulcher #fallenleaves #autumnleaves #mulch #gardentips #fallgardening #gardenchores #compost #leavesasmulch #fallgardencleanup @worxtools
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