Like many of you I am dreaming of the wonderful garden I will be planting and working in this coming year. Last year we cut half of our lawn out to extend my garden and I have been using my winter months studying away. I decided to convert my garden squares into raised row beds this spring, I started the prepping process in the fall, remember our giant leaf pile? Now I'm ready to mark out the rows, cover with straw and get the top soil/compost mix laid out and ready to plant a spring green manure crop. I also sat down with the kiddos to lay out our garden plans and decide what and how much we are going to plant.
Getting Organized
It seems like every year I am flipping through my books and searching my pinterest boards for when to plant my spring crops, how to prepare my garden for planting and how to take care of each plant. Well no more! I am getting organized this year with this beautiful garden journal from Strangers and Pilgrims. The journal is separated by months so you can write what you need to be starting indoors, what work needs to be done in the garden and then notes on what is working and what may need to be changed next year. The best part is I don't have to mull over in my mind what I need to be doing this month, I just flip to the section and see at a glance what needs to be done. I also added two more sections to my journal; Garden Care and Plant Care. The Garden Care section has print outs I have made with the information I get from Old World Garden Farms blog as well as my other gardening books pertaining to watering, fertilizing, soil, and all around care of the garden as a whole. The Plant Care section will have a detailed print out of how to care for each plant individually based on what I have researched on that plant. I will be making these print outs available throughout the year in my blog posts, as well as posting about what you can do each month in your garden. I am in zone 6 so you may need to adjust your months based on what zone you are located in.
Garden Preparation and Planning for February
Last year was the first year I started seeds indoors rather than purchasing my plants from the nursery. Boy did I learn a lot! Lets just say I still had to make a trip to the nursery after all, and I am better prepared this year knowing what worked and what needs to be change. One thing I learned was to start my pepper and tomato plants a lot earlier - so February is the month I will be setting up my seed shelf and getting the grow light out. This week (last week in February) I will be starting my hot peppers and basil as well as cabbage, onions and parsley (which should've been started the first week, make a note for next year). For detailed instructions on making your own seed shelf for starting seeds as well as some other things you can do in February to prepare your garden, check out the following posts from Old World Garden Farms:
Starting Seeds Indoors
How to Plant a Spring Green Manure Crop for a Great Garden
How to Avoid the 6 Common Mistakes New (or Old) Gardeners Make
Preparing and Planting a Raised Row Garden
How to Plant a Spring Green Manure Crop for a Great Garden
How to Avoid the 6 Common Mistakes New (or Old) Gardeners Make
Preparing and Planting a Raised Row Garden
This week I will be showing you how to make your own potting soil mix, how to organize your seeds and getting the children involved with their very own garden journal.
My Favorite Gardening Books & Resources
This a small list of my favorite places to get gardening information and project how to's.
Old World Garden Farms
This is one of my favorite blogs. I love Jim and Mary's simple approach to gardening with amazing results. As I mentioned above I will be using their raised row garden beds this year, I am excited to see what happens!
This is one of my favorite blogs. I love Jim and Mary's simple approach to gardening with amazing results. As I mentioned above I will be using their raised row garden beds this year, I am excited to see what happens!
Making Vegetables - Shoshanna Easling of Bulk Herb Store
I love this book and can't wait for the other two volumes in the series to come out. She is also working on companion DVD's to go with the books. I love the beautiful photography in this book and because I am a visual learner I love the companion photos for everything. This volume goes over how to start seeds indoors, watering, fertilizing and pest control using organic means, vegetable guide for growing spring veggies, a project section including nine different projects ranging from a simple garden box to a green house, and a recipe section for using up those garden veggies. Can't say enough about how much I love this book. As a bonus this book happens to be one of the Bulk Herb Store specials this month, use code FEBVEG to get it for only $13.97 (reg. $19.99).
I love this book and can't wait for the other two volumes in the series to come out. She is also working on companion DVD's to go with the books. I love the beautiful photography in this book and because I am a visual learner I love the companion photos for everything. This volume goes over how to start seeds indoors, watering, fertilizing and pest control using organic means, vegetable guide for growing spring veggies, a project section including nine different projects ranging from a simple garden box to a green house, and a recipe section for using up those garden veggies. Can't say enough about how much I love this book. As a bonus this book happens to be one of the Bulk Herb Store specials this month, use code FEBVEG to get it for only $13.97 (reg. $19.99).
All New Square Foot Gardening - Mel Bartholomew
This was the first gardening book I ever purchased, although it was the older version, I have since updated to this newer and easier version. Even though I am now transferring over to raised bed rows we still have a few square foots sections and I will still be applying the methods of square foot gardening. I love the plant reference guide and charts in the back that you can see at a glance when to start seeds, when to transplant them in your garden and how to care for each plant.
This was the first gardening book I ever purchased, although it was the older version, I have since updated to this newer and easier version. Even though I am now transferring over to raised bed rows we still have a few square foots sections and I will still be applying the methods of square foot gardening. I love the plant reference guide and charts in the back that you can see at a glance when to start seeds, when to transplant them in your garden and how to care for each plant.
Homegrown Herbs - Tammi Hartung
There are many gardening books but not very many that focus only on how to plant, care for and harvest just herbs. I love this book that takes you from seed to harvest, storage and use of herbs. She even has a section for organic pest control, seed saving, recipes and herb spotlights.
There are many gardening books but not very many that focus only on how to plant, care for and harvest just herbs. I love this book that takes you from seed to harvest, storage and use of herbs. She even has a section for organic pest control, seed saving, recipes and herb spotlights.
Kids Garden: The Anytime, Anyplace Guide to Sowing & Growing Fun - Avery Hart
This is a fun book to get kids excited about gardening. There are indoor experiments, projects for indoors and out, seasonal projects and lots of way to get the kids involved.
This is a fun book to get kids excited about gardening. There are indoor experiments, projects for indoors and out, seasonal projects and lots of way to get the kids involved.
