The first thing I had to do this year was prepare the beds. Most of the work had already been done, I just had to add more organic material, rake and weed. I also planned to attach the string grid that I left off last year.
Now comes some of the 'my way' part of this gardening endeavor. I am not going to be plagued by lackluster, puny plants this year. I did my due diligence last season and hunted down organic compost from several sources under the premise that this would make my plants thrive. Thrive, they did not. Sometimes some good old fashioned tried and true experience comes into play. My mom swore by Miracle Grow and so did our elderly neighbors, the Burtons, who just so happened to have the biggest tomatoes and cabbages I've ever seen. Unrivaled by anything since, as a matter of fact. I am not looking for abnormal, just healthy and prosperous. So, I also invested in some Miracle Grow Vegetable and Garden Soil. Couldn't hurt. I added a 2 cubic foot bag to each 4x4 section of the large bed and one to the 2x10 bed. Then I added Osmocote granules, too. Phil Swindler at Swindler's Florist and Garden Center gave me some to try in our flower beds last year and my petunias and perennials were stunning. So, I grabbed a jar of the garden and vegetable variety and mixed it in the soil as well. Please know, I am all for organic gardening -organic anything for that matter- but in my experience, I haven't had success without some fertilizer other than compost, manure, etc. Those are all in my soil mix, too, and I don't plan on using any pesticides. So, we'll see how it works.
"2011 Holcomb Family Garden Plan"
As I had mentioned in my first post, I have "often pointed out but never diagnosed OCD." So, this is the part of gardening I LOVE. I took the failed plan for last year and re-worked our current plan based on the seeds we had, plants I knew I could get at this point in the season and on what I'd like to can and preserve at harvest time. Here is a rough shot of my plan.
With plan in hand and an unyielding determination to BUY LOCAL (a soapbox I'll ascend at a later date) , I headed out to Moore's Gardens, off Antioch Rd. in Clinton County. It is truly an oasis in the middle of miles and miles of farm land. I wish I had taken a picture to share - I'll make sure I take one on a future visit and post. The flowers and hanging baskets are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! And they have some really nice fountains and such. I would have normally gone to Swindlers Florist and Garden Center in Wilmington for their unmatched selection of heirloom and unusual tomatoes (as well as flowers, hanging baskets and organic compost... even the elusive Vermiculite) but they were closed for the holiday. That said, I will go there and finish out my tomato collection. You just can't beat their variety anywhere around... even at the big garden centers in Cincinnati. Swindlers and their partnership with the ag program at Wilmington College has the tomato market hands down.
Back to the plants. I was on the hunt for a pretty basic Roma tomato plant. Romas are perfect for salsa, a good red sauce and canning... not to mention my famous bruschetta ;). Not a gallery opening goes by at my dad's gallery without my bruschetta. So, with all of that anticipation on these little pear-shaped tomatoes, I wanted plants that were sturdy and strong, a little larger than the average bear. Alas, there were no Roma plants anywhere I'd been.Then came Moore's. Not only did they have Romas, but they had big, thick, full Romas, covered with fruit. Some almost half their full size. YAY! And since I bought four of them, I got a great deal. Another benefit of supporting local business - the ability to negotiate!
All told, we got a four huge Roma plants, onion sets and a flat plus two packs of green, red and orange peppers, jalapenos, cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts (which I absolutely cannot wait to see grow!).
Oh, and for those of you who are interested, here is what
Brussels sprouts look like fully grown. Pretty wild, huh! Like I said, I can't wait!
No comments:
Post a Comment