Garden Planning Time

[CM]

Following the holidays, the seed/garden catalogs start to arrive in the mail. While the snow is flying, I can't think of a more pleasant pastime than flipping through all the new catalogs and forming lists of new vegetables, herbs, and flowers I'm going to try this Spring!

Sometimes I even start a few things on the windowsill or under a grow light later on in January. I've even been known to start a few tomatoes for an early start and geraniums, too.

You can start parsley, some other herbs and leeks in February, onions, scallions and shallots. Lettuce seedlings and escarole, Chinese cabbage and celery can be started now and put out into a cold frame in March, then on into the ground by late March/April along with pansies and petunias, and hardy herbs and perennials. Spinach, Swiss Chard and beets are pretty hardy, too. There are so many new Japanese greens, cole family and Italian greens hitting the market lately, too. Lots of these can be used as baby/micro greens and mature in less than thirty days or can be used as cut-and-come-again types of salad fillers that can even be grown in a planter or a pot in space-limited gardens or even on a window sill. A few times I've grown an English cucumber by training it along and up around a large picture window! There are varieties of these cucumbers that are meant to be grown in greenhouses so are well suited to this type of growing indoors.

In March and April I start seedlings for the warmer weather plants like the main crop of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers.

The garden soil is improved by tilling in compost, leaves, seaweed and peat moss. I don't like to use any chemicals in the garden.

[KarenB]

Just got my seed catalog yesterday and have made my list. My problem is every year I get carried away and my soil is clay. I want to change it this year. Less growing and more attention to the soil. I'm looking at red clover for green manure. I have a 1 acre property just screaming for help. Hopefully I can get something going. I have about 7 apple trees I'd like to help since they have been badly neglected over the years. I can grow pumpkin squash and cukes without even trying. Last year I tilled for the first time and gave up since it turned into a weed bed. Between the heavy rains the earth just produced more weeds than I could keep up with. Any suggestions? Trying to stay organic but that's getting harder and harder. Any recipes for organic weed kill? I read about horticultural vinegar. Just what is that? Any ideas's on how to tame my jungle? My next best idea was to invite you all over to have a weed pulling contest. Who's dropping by?

[Kateri-Marie]

I have a very large, sunny window in my bedroom with a shelf all along the bottom, so I have planted seeds in pots alongg there. Also my kitchen windoowsill is great for growing herbs, and they're so handy right there!

[Cassie-Jane]

I have a great South facing window in my Kitchen!! It is also great for growing herbs!

[brigid]

I was just looking at one such catalog last night. It sets me dreaming of all sorts of wonderful times spent in the yard with my plethora of plants. I love them all!

[CM]

Any recipes for organic weed kill? Any ideas's on how to tame my jungle?

As compost heats, it kills weed seeds, but you'd need a lot to cover your soil. Best plan is to use a heavy mulch. We use seaweed around here, but I've also used layers of newspaper with a circle cut into the center (black and white printing only). Another method I've used is plastic mulch with an X cut where you'll be setting out each plant. You can also put a row of patio blocks between the rows.

Alternately, you can make wide rows and use a mini-tiller (or Black and Decker has a small cultivator that works in even smaller places). I use a mini-tiller that's about a foot wide for cultivating between rows.

[Cassie-Jane]

Hi Karen,
I have a lasagne Organic Garden,
1 Row Straw, 1 row Newspaper ,1 row mulch over and over again!!
I did not have to weed all year!

[KarenB]

Thanks for the tips. I think this year I'll till and then cover with newspaper then top with the lawn cuttings. Hopefully I'll beat the rain this year and gain back the gardens. Not sure how to handle my veggie garden since I seed directly in the spring.

[norsen]

Thanks for the tips. I think this year I'll till and then cover with newspaper then top with the lawn cuttings. Hopefully I'll beat the rain this year and gain back the gardens. Not sure how to handle my veggie garden since I seed directly in the spring.

If you just plant for fresh table use you mite want to consider raised bed gardening. Easier to mulch and control weeds and pests. And you don't have to bend as far. LOL. Even a foot of real dirt works wonders for most vegetables, and you really don't need much more.
As for ground cover to grow on clay and to grow on clay I have a suggestion that worked for me and one place. I tried all spring and summer to grow grass in an area where a contractor filled up a huge area with the clay on the top and the real dirt on the bottom. No success at all
Late fall I scratched in a 50% annual rye with 50% mix of perenial grasses for my zone. Thats all I did. That is what I had done at previous home with the problem areas under huge shade trees. It mite work in the early spring.
A good source book for raised bed gardening and other subjects is Gardening by the Square Foot.
I hope no one has advised you to plow sand into your clay to lighten it up. It would make your problems worse.

[KarenB]

Tried the raised beds. Still full of grass. I'm surrounded by cattle pastures. Full of tough grass and poop full of grass! What's a girl to do. Thanks norsen for the warning on sand. I think I need tons of peet moss, top soil and sure am jealous of those of you with seaweed.