Planning for the New Season

It’s 14 degrees outside, and winter is a long way from over. Nothing to do in the garden, but I am planning and prepping for the coming season.

I’ve yet to order seeds, and my current seed inventory needs to be sorted.  I’ve got to set up my grow lights, but I won’t be starting any seeds until late February.

I’m not great at growing flowers. I’ve gotten pretty good with the vegetables, and I can say that I know how to bring food to the table. But I do appreciate ornamentals.

Since we started CobraHead 25 years ago, the business has taken me to many garden conferences, and I’ve toured some spectacular gardens. I’d like to get a little handier with flowers as my gardening life goes forward. I don’t expect to rival the world’s best gardens. I just want to bring more color and beauty to the home.

Last year, I planted dahlias for the first time (photo at top). The blooms were beautiful. I’ve got tubers in the basement and plan to have an even bigger planting this year.

I’ve always grown marigolds. They are about the easiest flower to grow.  I plant them at the ends of my garden beds to add some color to the otherwise mostly green veggies. Although it’s easy just to buy a flat, I’m going to start them from seed from last year’s blooms.

I will be trying a lot more flowers this year, as I have to cut down on veggie production a little. We always end up with too much food. We’ve given a lot to the local food pantry, and I plan to increase what I grow specifically for them.

I rotate my crops through the 20-plus beds that make up the garden. I think rotation is essential as a soil improvement, and it definitely helps with disease and insect resistance. I’ll be putting this year’s rotation on paper in the coming weeks.

Chayote is a cucumber-like plant that is popular in both Latin American and Asian cooking. It has an extremely long growing season and has to be started indoors to get a crop in northern climates. It will be a new attempt for me, and I’m looking forward to trying to grow
it.

January actually is very slow, with almost nothing to do, garden-wise. Using some time to do good planning does make the work easier as the season unfolds.