Out in the Garden

2007 Garden to do list

I have come up with a “2007 vegetable garden to do list” to keep me focused on what can be changed to improve the garden this year. Each item is designed to improve the harvest, add beauty, make the garden more inviting, or to have more fun in the garden this year. Here is the list:

• We will add many flowers to the vegetable garden.
• We will use companion planting strategies.
• We will grow Horseradish to keep Blister Beetles Away.
• We will build a tall fence around our corn to keep critters out.
• We will use vertical gardening techniques to grow crops on the fence.
• We will use raised beds and square foot garden beds.
• We will make the paths and spaces between beds larger.
• We will use the Florida Stake and Weave for many of our tomatoes.
• We will try to have early tomatoes ripe by July 1st!
• We will grow many new heirloom tomatoes!
• We will use more composting techniques including "worm composting".
• We will try for giant pumpkins!
• We will try some new vegetables and fruits that we haven't grown before.

Now for a few more items that I need to address BEFORE the outdoor season:

• I need to write a comprehensive list of the vegetable and flower varieties we will grow this year.
• I need to map out the placement in the garden of each plant on graph paper.
• I need to write out the calendar schedule of when we will start each vegetable indoors, and when we will plant each outside.
• I need to finish building our double-decker grow light stand.
• I need to manage all of the seed starting under the lights.
• I need to create the NEW outside beds.
• I need to build all trellises and plant supports in advance.
• I hope to make a working cold frame for hardening off the plants.

I realize that my list is pretty big. I will try to write posts addressing each thing on the list to either report that I accomplished an item, or explain my ideas. Later in the season I will report back on each item to see how I did. As I write a new post, I will update this post by making each item on the list a link to the corresponding post. Posts will appear in either Out in the Garden or Little House and The Big Garden, and the links will take you to the appropriate one.

This post will become "home base" for monitoring and reporting my "to do list" progress. Doing all of this may be more for me than for you the reader, but possibly we will learn some things together.

Happy Gardening 2007!