Garden Plans for 2016

Now that all the snow has melted I can easily see the sorry state of my garden area.  The chickens have had free access to the garden since the end of the last growing season and they have been doing a good job of scratching and kicking up the earth.   It is amazing how much stuff gets blown into the fenced area through the winter that I now must collect.

The outside temperature has been inching its way into the fifties and I have the urge to start working in the garden again.  I love the way it looks after the soil has been turned over and fluffed up.  Of course the chickens won't be too pleased when they are once again barred from their favorite area.

In the next week or two I plan to begin sowing seeds indoors.  Lots of seeds!  I am also adding some things to the garden that I have never grown before such as kale.  The first seeds I will be planting are onions.  Once again I am going to try to grow onions, this time from seed.  I will be preparing all four of the raised beds with a nice loose compost in the hopes that this will be the year I get a decent crop of onions and carrots, rutabagas and beets.

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I read somewhere that I can raise lettuce among the onions to save on space.  We also eat lots of spinach both cooked and in salads, so a third raised bed will loaded with spinach.  The fourth, and last of the raised beds will be for rutabagas and beets.

Last year I didn't plant any corn and ended up buying ten dozen ears from a local farmer.  This year I will plant corn instead of the the winter squash, except for the butternut squash which we love and eat often.

Then there are the usual veggies: heirloom beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cabbage, green beans and summer squash.

This will be the final summer for this garden as we plan to be relocated to the farm by the end of the growing season.  This will, hopefully, be the first gardening summer at the farm as well.  My plan for that garden is to raise field peas and butternut squash as forage for the goats.  I read that the butternut seeds are a natural de-wormer, and that field peas are a healthy treat for my girls.  Since the farm is located in an area with a longer growing season and milder winters than CT I am hoping to be able to reduce our reliance on stored hay and store bought feed.  There will be several acres of hay and forage for the goats.

Back to planting talk.  This year I ordered wholesale, some planting trays for starting the seeds.  For the past few years I have used paper cups, re-used seedling trays from the garden center, and whatever else I could make use of for starting seeds.  I got the trays for a good price and they can be used again and again.  In the long run I believe it will be money well spent, and should I sell some of the seedlings the cost will be recovered by the sale of only a dozen trays of seedlings.

future home for our small live-stock ?

This weekend we begin working at the farm to prepare for living there.  Along with doing some clean up of the house interior and the yard area around the house which has been overgrown with weeds and vines, we will begin our attempt to rescue an old out-building which was previously used for small animals, probably chickens and rabbits.  This little

post and beam building looks in terrible shape, but with some work, and replacing the siding, it will make a good home for the chickens and ducks.