WINTER ON THE FARM
The picture to the right I found on Facebook. The artist is Jessica Boehman. It is a great rendering of how I feel on this cold winter day.
First and foremost; I am planning the vegetable and herb gardens. This is our first spring here and we have to rely on historical averages to plan when to plant what.
Historical averages? I am talking mainly about temperatures. It is kind of difficult to figure because the winter has been colder and wetter than normal. As I plan, I wonder how long the El Nino trend will continue. Even as I write this there is another storm taking aim at us from the Pacific. This gives me pause
as I try to plan when to start the garden. I researched my USDA zone on their website. I had been told that I was USDA zone 7 but as I studied their website I understand that this is zone 6a. That makes more sense with what I am observing. The nights below freezing started the first week of November and we have not been much above freezing since. The daytime's are into the 30's and 40's and most days we see the sunshine.
Seed catalogs started arriving in November. I have my favourites- Territorial Seed out of Oregon has some of the seed varieties that I love. Like Sweet Meat Squash. Horizon herbs, also out of Oregon see my favourite herb seeds and plants. Baker Creek has a multitude of heirloom seeds and is my go-to for seeds. I try to choose varieties that are native to environments that match mine. With heirloom seeds, natural selection has already occurred. You can choose seed varieties that have evolved from similar environments. I will choose seed that have thrived in high desert, alkaline and windy environments.
"Don't Fight Mother Nature, She Always Wins"
Into the plan I will insert the gardening knowledge of planting by the moon cycles. For generations, gardeners plant based on the cycle being above ground plants ( Lettuce and other greens, tomatoes, peppers, peas, beans, squash, melons) are planted by the light of the moon or waxing moon- New moon to Full. Below ground plants (Root Vegetables of herbs grown for their roots) are planted by the dark side of the moon or waining moon. Full moon to new moon. Along with the moon cycles I use companion planting charts to use as I plot out the garden.
I draw out a diagram. I map it out on a piece of graph paper that details width and length of my actual garden. First on the chart will be the Cole crops. Plants that do well in nights will be cooler. Cole crops are shallow rooted and thrive in the early spring or fall gardens. These crops will have shorter crop time. I will harvest these by June and in their place will add in the summer lovers like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, beans, corn and squash. There will be a few in-between crops that I plot to plant Peas like the cooler weather of spring but they have a larger and deeper root system. I plant them at the same time I plant the Cole crops. I will also plant potatoes at this time in deep trenches that I fill in with straw as the plant grows. Potatoes don't have to be planted this early, but I seem to have better luck when I plant early. I also plant beets, carrots and parsnips in this in between time. They will continue in the garden long into fall and I harvest as I need them.
I will start the tomatoes and peppers indoors and transplant the plant into the garden as the weather allows. Everything else I will direct sow into the ground. Another trick to pass along is to not plant everything at the same time or else I will be harvesting all at the same time. This is great when I am canning, but when I am not canning then it does not work well for this family to have several heads of lettuce or broccoli all at them same time.
It will be more important this year to keep a gardening journal. It will be a diary of observations. Observing the weather, the way the sun falls across the garden, the way water flows over the property and what the wildlife is doing. Nature gives me clues constantly. When I have the awareness, being mindful of the environment and nature it becomes an exercise in communication and I stay in tune with Mother Nature. I have learned "Don't fight Mother Nature, She Always Wins."
In the weeks ahead I will be providing an update on how the sheet mulching is doing; how well it is breaking down/composting. Also to come will be articles on my micro-greens business and another article on preparing a place for the goslings. Let me know if there are any topics that you are interested in or questions that you may have. Looking forward to hearing from you.
