Are you planning your garden?

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Do you garden?  Last year, I planted a lot of Dahlia tubers thinking that they would attract bees to help pollination of my vegetables.  They are flowers, right?  Well, I guess some of the Dahlia’s are hybrids – bred to have very little pollen, so they do not attract bees.  I’m always learning …

While the Dahlias were beautiful, I am not a “flower gardener”.  We all have different ideas about gardening and I want to grow food and herbs because it is so hard to find nice organic and / or pesticide-free produce in my area.  I think that we need to get back to being more self-sufficient.  I also feel that “chemical-free” gardening is important for our health.  And, you have to admit that there is no other feeling like harvesting and eating food that you grew yourself.  I’m sure some of you feel that way about flowers too.

Anyway, with that said, I am just an average gardener and most of my growing is in raised beds.  Over the past couple years, I have built up my garden with metal troughs and planters from Tractor Supply as well as whiskey barrels from various places.

(Picture from last year’s garlic planting)

I have 6 of the troughs and 2 of the round planters (the round ones have no bottom):

Tractor Supply CountyLine Galvanized Stock Tanks

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My husband drilled holes in the bottom of the troughs for drainage and we placed them on bricks.  We then filled them with a mixture of coconut coir, perlite, and vermiculite … as well as worm castings and azomite rock dust.  I use a mixture of fertilizers, so I am not going to list those.  I do try to use natural and organic fertilizers though.

When planning your garden, you really need to check various sources as prices sometimes vary a lot by retailer.  Also, third-party sellers on some sites may jack up prices if items are hard to find.  Some retailers offer free shipping with a set minimum purchase (a definite plus).  If this year is anything like the past couple years, you might want to get your gardening orders in early!

I like to order seeds from various sources with Fruition and EFN Seeds being my favorites.  Fruition’s farm is in New York and their weather is similar to mine here in Pennsylvania, so I feel good about the chances of their seeds growing here.

EFN Seeds has unique seeds from all around the world.  I am excited to try growing the blue beans this year as well as the green-flesh squash!

Here are the websites for the sites that I purchased seeds from this year:

This is my seed list that I recently purchased as well as seeds that I saved and leftover seeds from last year:

  • EFN Flagpole Scallions 
  • EFN Wild Ramps
  • EFN Maypop
  • Baker D’elne Celery

 

  • Baker Pink Dandelion
  • Baker White Dandelion
  • Baker Italiko Rosso Dandelion (tall greens)

 

  • Baker Cayenne pepper 
  • Baker Buena Mulato Hot Pepper 
  • EFN Criolla de Cocina Sweet Pepper 
  • EFN Sishito Pepper 
  • EFN Black Hungarian Hot Pepper 
  • EFN Alpine Poblano 
  • Pinetree Bird’s Eye Chili Pepper 

 

  • EFN Appaloosa Bean
  • EFN Nonna Agnes Blue Bean
  • Fruition Nightfall Bean

 

  • EFN Squash (green flesh) Guatemalan Ayote
  • Fruition Tromboncino 
  • EFN Grandpa McKay Cream Pea 
  • Pinetree Knight Pea
  • Pinetree Oregon Giant Snow Pea
  • Pinetree Little Snow Pea Purple 

 

  • Fruition Cosmos
  • Fruition Vervain
  • EFN Bee Balm
  • EFN Marshmallow 
  • EFN Primrose 
  • Fruition Boneset
  • Fruition Borage 
  • Pinetree Everleaf Emerald Basil 
  • Pinetree Dukat Dill 
  • Pinetree Shirogoma Sesame

 

  • EFN Jagodka Tomato
  • EFN Eva Purple Ball Tomato
  • Pinetree Valentine Tomato 

 

  • Fruition Millet 

 

My own collected seeds: 

  • Various Okra 
  • Various Herbs
  • Bread seed Poppy

 

  • I also have other leftover seeds from last year: 
  • Beets
  • Corn
  • Lettuces 
  • Cauliflower
  • Kale 
  • Broccoli 
  • Garlic is already planted (various organic sources)

 

  • Still need: Ginger

My garden now:

 

I can’t wait to see my garden come to life again this year.  I have ordered most of my seeds and am planning on where they will go in my garden.  I’m trying to rotate crops as they say.  My biggest downfall is that I do not have a compost pile.  I have a compost roller, but it is small.  I also have a Garden Tower that I put kitchen scraps down the middle with worms.  My sister got me this a few years back.  It is a nice way to plant a lot in a small space and use your kitchen scraps to fertilize the soil.  You can check it out here:

Garden Tower Giveaway

You have until January 17th to enter for a chance to win one!   The following picture is mine from a previous year:

I look forward to seeing what I can grow and improve this year.  As I said, I do not have a compost bin or pile, so I am working on a few things to enrich the soil.

  • Growing extra pea microgreens to use as green manure – they break down pretty fast
  • Drying and crushing egg shells
  • Drying banana peels and chopping into powder or smaller bits
  • Saving and drying used coffee grounds

There are too many bunnies in my yard in the spring to try and grow in the ground, but container gardening also has it’s issues.  I had a hard time with transplanting tomatoes last year, but after that problem I used the mykos on additional plants and didn’t seem to have that problem.

If you are transplanting, I also suggest using mykos:

Mykos Innoculant

It is very easy to use as you just put a small amount into the hole before the you put the plant in.

If anyone has good suggestions for kitchen scraps without having a compost bin, please let me know.

My backyard is my happy place!  Happy gardening!