I love my garden in February. Really? Oh yes, for sure. Even in the difficult winters of northern Utah. We’ve had a pretty cold and snowy season, but I try not to let that slow me down. Today I transplanted 24 heads of lettuce into the square foot gardens, with a lot more to go in the next 2 weeks. Class coming up on how to do it so quickly.
How early can you have a garden? Is it easy to do, and what if you don’t know anything about gardening? Those are all questions that will be answered in an upcoming class that I’ll be teaching in a couple of weeks. With a little work and planning you can have an early spring garden and be harvesting by the first of April-when everyone else is just beginning to think about roto-tilling. You’ll be learning about a few things which will be new that’ll help you on a very fun adventure. And, an incredible lesson on how delicious food can taste when harvested just 5 minutes earlier. You can read more about the class here.
I’m not much of a Christmas/holiday person but when these show up, I’m happy. Lots of things planned for this year including growing some selected herbs and cherry tomatoes for 2 or 3 local restaurants. I’m feeling a little bit of pressure because of it, but we’ll see how it goes. There will be a new variety of cherry tomatoes that I”ll be growing this year in addition to the famous sungold, grape, and rainbow. Cherry bomb promises to be an excellent choice for a sweet red cherry. I’ll be growing English cucumbers again, along with a new, less spicy variety of arugula. Looking forward to a brand new season.[ois skin=”1″]
Try to bag as many leaves as possible if it’s not already to late. I’m able to get about 15 of them which is a few more than I actually need. I like to push back a few inches of growing soil and then add a layer of dried leaves. By the time spring arrives they will be gone. They’re a great soil amendment, and the best part? Its free!
I’m also sure to cover my bagged leaves with plastic. When rain and/or snow get in from the top the leaves get messy and soggy. You can still use them but it gets to be a lot more work. For those looking for a way to make extra money for kids at home, contact me. It might be too late for this year, but you can certainly start next year.
I dont usually grow onions in my square foot gardens. They just seem to take a long time and you can buy them cheaply during the summer months. The last time I grew them was probably 15 years ago. I wont be doing that anymore. These red onions were the best I’ve ever tasted. Much like garlic, they are sweeter and milder than store bought. They look perfect. Given the fact that the square foot gardener can grow 9 in just one square foot, I can certainly give up 3 or 4 squares during the growing season, which will give me 27 or 36 onions. The taste is certainly worth it. I don’t know, maybe I’ll grow more than that and store a lot of them for winter. The things that come out of the home gardens continue to amaze. And everyone who tastes the delicious things harvested during the season always comment on it. I’m certain the the soil used also makes a big difference. In this case, it’s 100% pure homemade compost. And it’s made in a manner that beats anything you can buy commercially.[ois skin=”1″]
7-8 lbs. of potatoes per square!
Minimize the effect of inflation on your food dollars
