Diana’s Garden Goals for 2022:
1. Make it warm up!
2. Less tomato plants, but the same amount of production based upon varieties planted.
3. Same goes for peppers.
4. Add second pole set-up for Pole Beans. (’Saychelles.’ I LOVE that pole bean!)
5. Add two rose bushes to replace two that have failed.
6. Get fruit trees fertilized SOON.
7. More flowers this season: Dahlias potted and in greenhouse. More cutting Zinnia and fillers.
8. Finish laying asphalt shingles around perimeter of garden beds for weed control.
9. Stay on top of weeding for a change!
10. More bales of straw for The Big Garden, and more Gladiolas planted for cutting.
11. Canning this season: More Salsa, less Pasta Sauce. More Dilly Beans
12. Purchase pressure canner to can more meats and soups and other low-acid foodstuffs.*
13. Move big birdbath closer to the hose so I clean it more often.
14. Put big planter here birdbath was.
15. Add Blueberry bushes this season, and add hydrangea on North East side of back deck. (All are on order.)
16. Talk to ‘The Chairman’ about adding a second rain barrel.
17. Add a third compost bin. (Materials are already on hand.)
*This woman ROCKS in all areas of Self Reliance. Read her!
https://practicalselfreliance.com/pressure-canning-recipes/
My poor little seedlings I put out this week are getting hit with 30+mph gusts today. I’ll have to water this evening when the wind dies down as I’m sure this wind will dry out the top inch or two of soil. Calling for a low of 31 tomorrow night but in reality, the low happens at 5-6am and only lasts an hour so I think everything will be fine. All brassicas/lettuce/peas and hardy greens. House will block some wind and I can use a couple of 2’x10’ sheets of roofing metal to block more. Back to the low 70s next week. If it’s not too windy, the maters and peppers can get a little outdoor time.
My list;
Inoculate Shiitake logs
Supports for maters, cucumbers and pole beans.
Clean other IBC tank and get them set up on pallets and fill them for garden & goat water.
Move former goat pen to put around big garden area
Get seed taters and plant in that area
Keep up on succession seed starting and planting
Plant pole beans, cucumbers, watermelon, carrots, corn and dill - not in that order
Weld up high tunnel hoops and get in the ground
Prep soil for high tunnel spot
Cover high tunnel $$$
Plant Fall/Winter crops including Winter food plot(s) for goats
Continuous cutting/splitting of firewood to clear land and keep warm next Winter
Need to get one more IBC tank so I can have two for harvesting rain water off the high tunnel and one for goat water. Guy up the road is giving them away but he kept the cages they come in to put firewood in. I don’t know what will happen when I fill them with no cage. I can always make cages out of pallets.
Sometime in the next year or so I want to start making implements for my little tractor to use in the high tunnel or outside of it for that matter. Bed shaper, maybe with plastic mulch dispenser. Various things for planting, cultivating and harvesting. The market gardeners all use standard 30 inch beds but my tractor has 24 inches between the tires so I’m doing 24” beds. I suppose I could add 3” wheel spacers to get to 30” gap between tires. That way I could get standard market garden tools that are all 15 or 30 inch like the 30” broad fork and baby greens harvesters.
I’d really like to make a little money with this at some point and think there’s a decent customer base here from Apr to Oct. Many thousands flock here from the St Louis area for the weekends every Friday when the weather’s not nasty. There’s also a college town nearby that has two markets. That’s years down the road. First thing’s first. Get good at growing and feeding us.