Tag: garden planning

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GKP Writing News

Planting Garlic

I needed another writing project. Not really. But I seem to have one. So many posts I write are about my garden that I now have an essay on planting garlic.

Ozark Gardening

Most gardening books are about northern states. What works in those places might work in the Ozarks, but probably won’t quite. The Ozarks is unique for gardening.

This area is far enough north to have seasons with occasional really cold winters. The cold usually doesn’t last for more than a week or two so the ground doesn’t freeze and stay frozen. Snow melts sometimes as it falls or within a few days.

The area is far enough south to get hot, humid weather. Along with this is intense sun that can burn up vegetable plants. Few vegetables can withstand full sun in the Ozarks.

garlic is the new garden beginning
I did use a trench in the mulch when I used hay flakes. Now I use loose hay bedding and make little wells for each clove. Either method works as long as the mulch is open above the clove so the plant can grow up quickly.

Climate Change

We had a severe drought back in 2012. The hay burned up before it could be cut. Creeks, ponds and wells went dry.

After that year, the weather has become more and more erratic. Gardening methods of many years suddenly failed.

Rain patterns changed. Now there are months of lots of rain, then months of drought. Rain often comes as downpours triggering flash floods.

Even so, Ozark gardeners rise to the challenge. And I am one of them.

Planting Garlic

Some crops are staples in my garden. There are the usual summer ones of tomatoes and peppers. I add okra and squash, both winter and summer.

Another annual crop is garlic. For thirty years I have defied gardening advice by planting garlic in the same bed. I plant it under heavy mulch without waiting for freezing temperatures.

There are now two garlic beds in my garden. The cloves go into the beds in late September. I’ve planted it already and am now watching for those garlic blades to poke up above the mulch.

By frost I hope to have two beds with rows of garlic plants. This is another reason besides having my own garlic in the kitchen: planting garlic is a success story in my garden.

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Latest From High Reaches

Gardens Need Seeds

As I try to finish putting my garden to bed for the winter, the seed catalogs lure me with their gorgeous pictures. After all, gardens need seeds to grow all those crops next season.

The Fun Part

Seed catalogs are the fun part of gardening. Each kind and variety looks so enticing. Each page is pored over, drooled over and finally flipped over to expose the next list of possible plants.

As I look through the catalogs, I start a list of seeds I would like to order. The list gets longer and longer. Window shopping is fun.

gardens need seeds and transplants like Broccoli
This fall I planted broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts transplants. With the arrival of cold weather, the two beds were put under plastic ‘tents’ to keep them warmer overnight and during the day. Cauliflower is much more cold sensitive and was cheerfully consumed by my Nubian buck. The broccoli is making florets. The sprouts have sprouts on them. Big tomato cages provide supports under the plastic draped over wires strung around posts. Rain does pool in the plastic in places, but these temporary shelters do work.

Reality Sets In

There are vegetables we don’t like to eat. There are vegetables I can’t grow for one reason or another.

Corn is one of these. We love sweet corn. Raccoons do too. Unless I want to spend my nights out in the garden, gun in hand, the raccoons eat all of the corn.

My garden is finite. The wish list is not. Unfortunately, the garden wins, mostly.

Time is also finite. The Ozarks does have a long growing season, but I don’t want to wait until September for those first tomatoes. Since I can’t set tomatoes and peppers out until mid to late May, those plants with long growing times won’t produce in time.

gardens need seeds and transplants like Brussels sprouts
Buying Brussels sprouts is much more convenient than growing them. The plants take up a lot of room yielding not that many sprouts. However, the leaves are good to eat too. They can be shredded for stir fry or dropped into soups and stews. Of course, my Nubian goats (especially Augustus) think I grow these just for them, a welcome winter treat.

Gardens Need Seeds

Once the wish list is done and reality sets in, the seed list gets trimmed. What will get planted where? How many plants can I fit into the space allotted? Can I use succession planting? If I grow it, will we et it? If we can’t eat it all, can I sell it?

By mid January, the seed lists need to become seed orders. Gardening season begins in late January for my garden. That’s when the leek and Savoy cabbage seeds are started. The transplants move to the garden in March.

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Latest From High Reaches

Spring Gardening

It’s amazing how uplifting sun and temperatures above freezing can be after days of near and below zero. The goats and chickens tumble out their doors to bask in the sun. Thoughts turn to kids and spring gardening.

Waiting on Kids

My Nubian doe High Reaches Juliette was due about New Year’s. The days passed and she stayed fat and showing signs, but no kids.

When she looked like any time, the temperatures plunged. Anxiety began as wet kids stand no chance in zero degrees even with an experienced mother goat.

The cold seemed to stop all kid preparation. As this cold moves on, the wait begins anew.

Reading Gardening Books

There’s not much to do outside with cold temperatures and a dusting of snow. Reading about gardening, seed sorting and starting along with spring gardening plans pass the days.

Much of the country is having much worse weather than the Ozarks. That’s one of the reasons we moved here thirty years ago. Waist deep snow along with temperatures ten and twenty below for six months didn’t fit our preferred life style.

My current gardening book “The Country Journal Book of Vegetable Gardening” written by Nancy Bubel is set in Pennsylvania. Some of the crops, all of the timing and some of the problems don’t apply here in the Ozarks. So, why is the book helpful?

Zephyr summer squash
This is definitely on my garden list for this year. Zephyr summer squash is easy to grow, delicious to eat and somewhat tolerant of squash bugs.

Universal Gardening Ideas

Some things fit gardening no matter where the garden is. The author prefers setting out rows. I have marked out beds. But planting seeds is the same.

Pennsylvania gardens are set out later than mine. But spring gardening planning entails the same details for succession planting, mulching, cultivating, seed starting and more.

Much of this and other gardening books won’t apply to the Ozarks. Enough of it does to make reading them worthwhile.

Besides, its relaxing to read about spring gardening while waiting for the season to begin. Now is when the planned garden is beautiful and productive. Before reality sets in.