In which it's time to plan the gardens and pretend I will stay on task

 Planning gardens is one of my time-honored coping strategies for the Big Dark time of year.

I've used the GrowVeg app for years, and faithfully followed along with Ben Vanheems' exploits in his British vegetable garden.  His enthusiasm and delight is contagious.  In our house, he is known as the Gardening Nerd, and he makes me smile.  He's also convinced me to try growing things I'd never considered before, which is why there is now a jungle in our bathroom.

Cilantro grown from seed, blueberry cuttings, ginger (!!!!), a Meyer Lemon
and a Bergamot Orange tree, all growing in the warm humidity of our bathroom

The garden planner lets me amuse myself by moving crops around on the computer screen for months before I ever put a shovel in the dirt.  It also keeps track of where I've planted things in the past, so that I can maintain decent crop rotation to avoid pests and diseases.  (I do ignore the recommendations at times, but that's on me!)

Jim and I also have some favorite gardening shows, and these bring sunlight into the house on dark evenings.  We love the British "Gardeners World" (Monty Don is a hero!) and we had a great time with the Irish gardeners on "Grow-Cook-Eat," who make us feel like our maritime climate is so hospitable compared to Ireland!

The beauty of gardening programs is that old shows are just as relevant as something produced last week, because "the latest development in primroses" is still timely ten or fifteen years later, which gives us years of programming to binge.

Primroses at the front gate

Here's the current version of the plans.  I might or might not follow them when spring actually springs.

We started the Classic Garden in 2009,

Classic Garden, 2024 plan

when the neighbor came over with his tractor and rototilled out a big square of the yard.  That first year the garden was pathetic in terms of production (understatement) because our soil was literally gravel with very little organic matter in it.  

Classic Garden 2022 - mostly squash

15 years of added stall cleanings has created deep, beautiful, dark productive organic soil.  

Classic Garden 2023 - beans and sunflowers (and Foxie)

The Berry Garden started as a vegetable garden, but as various trees continued to grow (looking at you, Sequoias, and also that fir tree, and also that walnut, but not the hazelnut that I'm pretty sure I finally killed), this sunny spot gradually became a "dappled shade spot".  

The Berry Garden, 2024 plan

As a result, this garden wasn't very good for vegetables.  We split it in half:  Jim built a chicken coop (the Easter Egg Palace)

The Easter Egg Palace, 2020

 and I installed perennial berry plants in the other half.  

Berries aren't nearly as insistent about having 12 hours of sun every day all summer, and produce a nice crop without needing tons of tending.

Berry Garden, 2022.  Strawberries, raspberries, blackcaps, lingonberries and Foxie

We built the Haenaheim garden during the pandemic lockdown.  

Haenaheim 2024 plan

I think it's safe to say that I survived pandemic partly because I spent so much time tearing out the old chicken structures and unearthing the junk that accumulated in the space when it was The Place They Threw Weird Sh*t before we moved here.

Haenaheim, 2023.  Squash, broccoli, turnips, sunflowers...and Foxie.

Finally, there's Monica's Garden, the spot she carved out in the 8 years she lived with us.  

Monica's Garden, 2024 plan

Since Monica moved out in late summer last year, it was still mostly her stuff growing there in 2023.

Monica's Garden 2023.  Calendula, kale, corn.

I harvested 3 gallons of calendula seed from Monica's garden--I could have gotten
much more, but I got bored with harvesting!

This year, Monica's Garden is up to me. 

I'm contemplating ripping out the chicken tunnels on the east and north sides of the garden--that would open up a lot of room and also make the space more accessible.  We shall see if I actually have (and take) time to do that this year.  We only have 6 chickens now, and do not have plans to get more, so having two chicken runs is plenty, we don't need three!

I will also plant lots of potatoes, which Jim and I love.  

Potato crop, 2013

All the gardening books say that potatoes need to be rotated into different parts of the garden, which totally ignores the reality of "once there are potatoes in a space there are ALWAYS potatoes in that space."  I've grown potatoes in the same corner of the Classic Garden for at least 10 years, and although I avoided planting them there last year we still got a bunch.  Adding enormous amounts of fresh compost (stall cleanings) seems to help the potato crops resist disease and pests, so I will do a lot of that in the new potato beds.

So far, I haven't planted much.

The Gardening Nerd suggested planting carrots in deep containers in January (!!!) so I did that in the Orangerie, with a seed mat under the pots for warmth.  And look:

CARROT SPROUTS!

Today, I was determined to Plant Something, but I haven't ordered a lot of seeds yet.  But I had some chard, so I planted that!

I love chard.  SOOOOOOO much better than kale!

But mostly, in February, I watch videos, scowl out the window at the cold rain, and dream of springtime.