Garden Planning

As a small child my family always had a vegetable garden, it was huge! It yielded squash, swiss chard, beets, radishes, asparagus, pumpkins, eggplant, onions, peppers, corn, broccoli, cabbage and much more. Every spring my Dad would work on planning the garden by figuring out what he wanted to grow. Sometimes he would start the seeds in the house in wet paper towels until they sprouted and were ready for planting. Life in our household always required everyone to pitch in, life on the farm is that way. The garden was no exception. As the smallest I was elected to plant the onions in one straight row. I always hated it. For whatever reason, as a kid I wanted to be doing something else. Reading my Baby Sitter's Club books, watching "The Cosby Show", riding my bike or talking on the phone. Little did I know that by planting those onions, I was also planting a seed in me. A seed that's about to start blooming.

Last fall I read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Through this non-fiction work, Kingsolver and her family embark on a one-year journey through which they would eat only what they could grow or buy in-season locally. The story reminded me so much of my childhood when every summer we would tend the garden and then work like dogs in the hot heat of our kitchen (we never had AC) to can what we reaped. Throughout the winter and spring months, we'd eat what we canned.

Two years ago Kim and I did our very own canning. I now have all of the tools (canning kettle and utensils) needed to can 'til my heart's content and my pantry's full. My goals for the 10' x 12' plot: 1) Can enough tomatoes to last throughout the winter until next spring. 2) Get reacquainted with onion planting. 3) Have fun.


In the next couple of weeks I will order seeds and start them for my plot. My plot is part of the Oxford-Dayton Urban Farm in St Paul. It is about 3/4 of a mile from my house. Some of the seeds will germinate in the sunrooms in Bob & I's apartment. (See the photos.) Our deck (currently covered with snow) will host my herb garden in a box. In order to really be ready for the planting season I'm doing research about gardening. Luckily for me, my dear Aunt Mary is a Master Gardener. She has suggested Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Intend to employ Mel's method of raised bed gardening, likely in a 4' x 8' box that I'll build myself. Until next time...