Back Again

Well, this is how it happens! A flurry of activity, then something happens to distract me, and I fall behind. But the warm weather and the buds on the trees remind me that there is gardening to be done. Not to mention the tray of scraggly seedlings….

So, for this week, I will have some catch-up time. The tray of seedlings has gotten really scraggly. I’m not sure why, they are under a grow light so light should not have been a problem. They are in a seed tray that is designed to wick the moisture to them so watering should not have been a problem. I tried giving them a weak feeding…I don’t know, maybe it is overcrowding. The right thing to do is probably to throw them out and begin again. After all, I do have time. But for some reason, I just can’t do that. So they all get one more chance…in their own larger pots. Last chance, guys....don't blow it! Next stop is the trash!!

This weekend is Easter so there will be no time to continue outside work on the actual garden. There is always time, though, for a walk in the yard. This is my favorite time of the year. So many memories from previous years plantings poking their heads up for another season. My very first year in this house, I planted bleeding hearts. They have been moved all around the yard over the years, but they always come up, every year, no matter where I put them.

Another year, I planed Virginia Bluebells. They have never been moved, they just come back a little more each year.

I think we are past the cold winter months. More nice days will mean more opportunities to get this garden planted! And more returning friends....

Clean Up Begins

Saturday was a beautiful gardening day, full of birds and sunshine!







Ok, well not really, but it was in the mid 50’s and for a few hours, there was a bit of a break in the clouds that provided some sun. So all in all, it was as good a gardening day as I can expect here in Lucketts in February.

Does this look like a planting bed ready for the new season?? Perhaps not. Because this garden has always gotten away from me each year, my gardening season always has to begin with Clean Up. I know, that is supposed to be the last step of last years garden…putting the garden to bed. But, as you can see, it didn’t quite get done.

So, with my trusty helper, Saturday was the start of pulling, prepping and raking.

And the final result....

If you happened to be passing by Lucketts on Saturday, you probably would have wondered what that fresh, minty smell was. There was an overgrown mint plant, left over from last summer's Mojitos that just needed to go. The mint had managed to fill one of the boxes I will be converting to a SFG, even infiltrating my sage. It will be impossible to keep the mint from coming back without totally emptying the box so it looks like the sage will be finding a new home after all…maybe in a planter.

What to Plant...

What to plant….what to plant….





This is always a dilemma for me. In Mel’s book about Square Foot Gardening, he cautions against trying many new things all at once. He also advises against building a seed list by perusing the many seed catalogs with their beautiful photography and enticing descriptions. This is perhaps the hardest thing to avoid. For some reason, and maybe it’s the presence of those catalogs, January always finds me itching to start growing something (or everything)! But this year, there is a PLAN and I am determined to stick to the plan.

So, Mel suggests looking back at recent grocery lists. I realized we eat a fair amount of vegetables in this house. Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots (I know… not really babies, but just trimmed adult carrots), greens, and something called “assorted salad fixin’s”. Hmmm, I don’t remember ever seeing a seed packet for something called assorted salad fixin’s. But this is my winter shopping list. During the spring and summer, when fresh, local produce is readily available at my neighborhood farms stands and the CSA I belong to, there are many more veggies I eat. Eggplant, peppers, beets, beans, sugar snap peas, not to mention tomatoes of every size, shape and color. Okay, so this is not going to be the way to reduce my list.








What I finally decided to do was to draw my garden with the grids marked for each square foot. But not all 4 boxes of my garden…no, just ONE box. One box for spring. And I will plant the same selections in all 4 boxes, just a week apart. This will hopefully provide me with a more steady harvest. This also limits me to selecting no more than 16 spring crops. So, now I am down to less than 16 spring crops, less than 16 summer crops, and less than 16 fall crops. Already more manageable!

Then it was just time for a decision. After carrying my garden drawing, my possible seed list, an eraser that allowed me to keep moving things around in the garden and my seed catalogs on several business trips across country (planes are a good place to ponder various seed combinations), I had a final list. The order is in!!!

How Much Space and Thyme

In my current garden, I have 4 square boxes and 2 rectangular ones. The entire garden is enclosed by a chicken wire fence which, last year, did not keep anything out. I went out this weekend to measure the square boxes, hoping that they were at least the 48 inches needed to make them over into a square foot garden. They are! They are actually 53 inches.

While it may not be apparent in the picture, the inside corner of each of the boxes was cut at a slant so instead of having a full 64 squares available for planting, I will have 60. Maybe I will plant some pansies along the cut edge of those squares….pretty flowers and edible too!

So, 60 squares…..well, not quite. I also have some permanent residents out there.

A rather large thyme plant and a smaller sage plant have managed to survive and actually thrive. In spite of the disarray, in spite of the weeds that overtake everything, no matter how harsh the winter or how dry the summer, the thyme and the sage are always there. I won’t know for sure until I pull up all the weeds, but I think the sage will probably occupy one square in a box, and the thyme – probably 3. Okay, so 56 squares for new veggies! Back to the seed catalogues.

A New Cycle Begins

It’s January.

It must be January because my mailbox tells me so. All the many catalogs that had so recently filled it, enticing me with ‘the perfect Christmas gift’, are gone. In their place are the seed catalogs, and each year, those are so much more irresistible to me. Each year, I thumb through pages and pages of beautiful pictures of promise. Each year, I make a long, long list of what I would like to grow. Each year, I buy too many seeds and seedlings and start my little garden afresh. And each year, without fail, my little garden, planted with enough seeds for several acres, gets ahead of me and becomes a jungle. An unruly and totally unmanageable jungle. And so the cycle begins again…..


Well, maybe…..



This year, I am planning to try out the Square Foot Gardening method as described in Mel Bartholomew’s book by the same name. I heard about this book and this type of gardening while listening to the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast. Okay, just because I can’t manage my own garden doesn’t mean I can’t live vicariously through other gardeners. I discovered that Mel has written a new book now, called All New Square Foot Gardening. In this version, he has updated some of his ideas from the first book, among them the idea of using raised beds. My garden is already a raised bed affair so it seemed a perfect fit. After reading the book, it all just seemed so….possible! Step by step instructions as to how to set it up….guidelines to keep me from planting too much….inspiring potential yields….tips to keep the gardening season running smoothly.



I think this just might work!

Welcome to my first year of Square Foot Gardening, and welcome to my blog.