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:
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))
LED Grow Lights I use: (*affiliate links)
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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