Happy Winter Solstice!

More Seeds from Botanical Interests

It's finally here. Today is one day I've been looking forward to for a long time now. Having only been able to garden during the latter half of this year, I'm looking forward to being able to grow some crisp spring veggies and succulent summer crops. For many of us, the Winter Solstice represents a great milestone in the gardening calendar. For me, it feels like the time for preparations has officially begun. During the next few weeks, I will be putting pen to paper and planning next year's four season garden. In part, I'm hoping that the lessons I've learned during the past few months will allow me to grow more successful fall and winter gardens. The spring and summer gardens this year (being my first), will be more of an experiment.

Here are some of the projects I will be focusing on during the next couple of months:

1. By now, I've purchased or have ordered most of my spring and summer seeds for next year. Most of the seeds I have now are from Botanical Interests and I just placed orders with Johnny's Selected Seed and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds a couple of nights ago. (I admit, I've gone a bit crazy in the seed department.)
   
2. I have to order some seed potatoes - 1 standard and 2 fingerling varieties. I'll probably purchase some organic potatoes from the supermarket to grow for fun as well. I'd also like to experiment with growing potatoes in large buckets. Here is a great piece on this very subject written by Cynthia from Grow Better Veggies.
3. I have to order some asparagus and rhubarb crowns for the garden. If anyone has a favorite variety they would like to recommend, please do! For asparagus, I'm leaning towards a purple variety.
4. I've ordered my 3/4-inch and 2-inch soil block makers from Johnny's. (My little Christmas present to myself.) My mission during the next few weeks will be to track down all of the materials necessary to make the soil block mix. Hopefully they won't be too difficult to source this time of year. I plan on making my own 4-inch soil block maker, which I haven't quite figure out how to do so yet.
5. I need to purchase all of the equipment necessary to build a mini seed starting operation, including shelves, fluorescent lights, trays, etc. My basement is heated so I'm not sure if heating mats are absolutely necessary (another expense I can surely live without). If anyone can offer an alternate to heating mats, please do!
6. I need to think about what kinds of fruit trees to grow next year. I'd like to purchase a couple of dwarf citrus trees (kumquat and mandarinquat), two fig trees and a persimmon tree (all fruits I can't source locally).
7. I have to come up with a seed-starting/transplanting/direct-sowing schedule for all of next year's crops, as well as a plot plan for my garden. Since I want all of next year's winter gardening beds to be relatively close to one another (like they are this year), I have to pick the right spring and summer crops to plant in these beds in order to ensure that they will be available when it comes time to sow my winter veggies.
8. Finally, there are a few crops that I will be paying special attention to this year, mainly because they can be quite difficult to grow successfully in our New England climate. These include tomatoes, peppers, melons, cauliflower and artichokes. I will be devoting a lot of reading time to them. Here is an enlightening tutorial on how to grow top-notch heirloom tomatoes, again, by Cynthia from Grow Better Veggies. (I've also posted a video link of Cythia's Love Apple Farm on my sidebar.)

I'm sure as the weeks go by, there will be many more projects on my plate and new things to learn, which is why gardening to me is such an amazing hobby.

Next Year's Meyer Lemons (I have about 10 new lemons on my tree and more blossoms to come.)