Spring Planning

Last year was a rough one for the farm. We had to get rid of our pigs because my health precluded taking proper care of them. They were quite tasty, though. And I didn't do any gardening at all, so we didn't even have our own fresh produce to supplement our groceries. The result, of course, was a much higher grocery bill for the year. So, I want to get back to the gardens this year and get some real food growing.

I learned in 2023 that I couldn't push too hard; I just don't have the time to fill the gardens the way I originally wanted to and take care of them properly, especially not with our bakery business taking off. But that doesn't mean I can't do something. And I will.

Obviously, I can't do anything until the spring thaws out the ground and gives me the chance to actually dig. But most gardeners and farmers are already planning things out, so I'm going to have to do the same. Even if I just stick to the smaller garden, there's plenty I can do in that space to give us some excellent fresh veggies.

So, I'm going to stick with the simple stuff to get myself back into the gardening groove. Root vegetables are a good choice; carrots, onions and beets are popular with my family. Turnips, not so much. Potatoes are ridiculously cheap on this island, but last year's crop was not very good due to the lack of rain we got. So, I might put some potatoes in the ground just in case.

My wife really likes tomatoes, so I'm going to get some of them planted as well. Tomatoes have to be done early; I'm going to try to get them started in the house so as to get a head start. I could just buy some seedlings when the time is right, but I have tons of seeds here, so I see no reason not to try to do it myself. I can always buy the seedlings if my attempts fail.

The biggest issue I'm going to have with the gardens is the chickens. While some of them are fenced up, the ones in the barn are free-range and love to play in the garden in the summer, regardless of what I'm trying to grow. So, I'm going to have to put some sort of fencing around the gardens to keep the birds out. Something else to think about as the seasons change.

Oh, yes...squash. Dannielle loves squash, and I would like to grow some this year. And a part of me wants to give corn one more shot; I've tried it three times and gotten nowhere with it, so I might wait until next year to try again.

So, there's plenty to think about and prepare for as spring approaches. As long as I don't overdo it and put too much on my plate, I think it will be a great year for the gardens. I certainly hope so, anyway; that's one of the main reasons we moved here in the first place.

But we'll see. There's still lots of time until then, so I've got the time to put together a good plan. I'll share it here once I've got it figured out. But until next time, stay warm. Because it's -18° out there right now, which is just wrong.