The Garden
Gardening. It's a huge topic, and while not really related to sewing/knitting, it does fall into the 'Home' category. And for the last month or so, I've put off sewing and knitting projects in favor of trying to get the garden going. This year, The Garden Experiment expanded quite a bit compared to the last two years. The whole thing started out as an experiment with container gardening. I thought it would be fun to try growing some of my favorite veggies that also claimed they were easy to grow. But as it turns out, squash plants are a little too big for 10-12" flower pots. They had to get planted in the ground. I put them inside a wire fence, because the local rabbits had already been feasting upon some morning glory plants, and ended up with a few squash (or is it squashes?). The rest of the plants, mostly herbs and some salad fixings, did well in containers that were well above ground level and out of the bunnies' reach. The experiment worked! And tasted pretty good.
The 2nd year, things started to snowball. I decided to plant the squash directly in the ground. But the tilled patch ended up having some extra room, so I also tried some sugar snap peas, onions, and tomatoes (as well as some cucumbers and broccoli, which didn't grow well). That same year some squash seeds that got put on the compost pile the year before also grew. And amazingly, nothing ate them! They were out in the open, unprotected, but the rabbits ignored them like they weren't there.
This year, the snowballing continued. The fenced in section has been planted with tomatoes, peas, onions, carrots, peppers, and 2 squash plants, just in case planting them outside the fence doesn't work out. There was a small misunderstanding that resulted in my purchase of 100 onion bulbs, all of which have been planted. It's important to always read the packaging of gardening supplies, seeds, and bulbs, even when they're on sale. Instead of broccoli, I'm testing some pole beans to see how they do. The compost pile got moved into a new chicken-wire bin, and the old location has been converted into another garden patch for the squash. There are also a couple of cucumbers out there, just to see if they do better this year. I really want to try making them into pickles if they grow.
I don't know that I can offer many tips on gardening, because it's still an experiment for me. I tend to go to Dave's Garden and The Old Farmer's Almanac for planting calendars and tips. And this year I tried starting the peppers indoors from seeds, so that I could try some non-bell, sweet varieties. I used paper cups from the dollar store with holes poked in the bottom, and set them in a plastic tray; that worked out well. I also saw this video on how to make seed-starting pots from old newspapers and other paper items around the house:
I did try making a few newspaper pots this year, but most of the plants were already in paper cups. The few that did get planted in newspaper seem to have done well, despite the fact that I definitely need more practice making the pots. I'm eager to try it again next year. The experiment continues!
The 2nd year, things started to snowball. I decided to plant the squash directly in the ground. But the tilled patch ended up having some extra room, so I also tried some sugar snap peas, onions, and tomatoes (as well as some cucumbers and broccoli, which didn't grow well). That same year some squash seeds that got put on the compost pile the year before also grew. And amazingly, nothing ate them! They were out in the open, unprotected, but the rabbits ignored them like they weren't there.
This year, the snowballing continued. The fenced in section has been planted with tomatoes, peas, onions, carrots, peppers, and 2 squash plants, just in case planting them outside the fence doesn't work out. There was a small misunderstanding that resulted in my purchase of 100 onion bulbs, all of which have been planted. It's important to always read the packaging of gardening supplies, seeds, and bulbs, even when they're on sale. Instead of broccoli, I'm testing some pole beans to see how they do. The compost pile got moved into a new chicken-wire bin, and the old location has been converted into another garden patch for the squash. There are also a couple of cucumbers out there, just to see if they do better this year. I really want to try making them into pickles if they grow.
I don't know that I can offer many tips on gardening, because it's still an experiment for me. I tend to go to Dave's Garden and The Old Farmer's Almanac for planting calendars and tips. And this year I tried starting the peppers indoors from seeds, so that I could try some non-bell, sweet varieties. I used paper cups from the dollar store with holes poked in the bottom, and set them in a plastic tray; that worked out well. I also saw this video on how to make seed-starting pots from old newspapers and other paper items around the house:
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