Garden Plans

There is still snow on the ground, but my heart is yearning for spring.  I've been reading seed catalogs and garden books for months now.  My plan for our garden is developing.  I have some new ideas that I want to try this year.  The great thing about gardens is that if it doesn't work, I can try something different next year.  

Plans that have worked in the past:

Crop rotation:  
I rotate the kind of plants from one area of the garden to a different area the next year.  This builds the soil and takes care of some insect problems.  

1.  Leafy Vegetables (Lettuce, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage)  Thrive on nitrogen
2.  Fruits (Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Melons)  Like Phosphorus
3.  Root vegetables (Carrots, Onions, Leeks, Radishes) Like potassium
4.  Soil Cleaners and Builders (Potatoes, Corn, Peas, Beans) Give nitrogen


So, if I plant lettuce in one area this year, then next year I will plant the tomatoes and peppers in that area.  The year after, I will plant onions and radishes.  (Source:  The Gourmet Garden by Virginia Hayes)

Another method for crop rotation is described by Lori Eanes in Backyard Roots.  She calls it the ABC method of crop rotation.  Start C and go backward.
C- cover crop in the winter
B- barnyard, let animals graze
A- annual vegetable garden
I haven't tried this yet, but I would like to try it.

Composting:
This has been working well with two areas where we put layers of green and brown.  We add grass clippings, vegetable scraps, chicken manure, wood shavings, and leaves.  We turn it now and then.  It breaks down and turns into wonderful soil.  We add it back to the garden or around fruit trees.  There are various ways of composting that work.  

Just Plant It:
I am amazed every year.  I plant a seed.  God sends water and sun, and- up comes a plant!  My favorite time in the garden is seeing the little seedlings poking up through the soil.  

Seeds cost so little, but the harvest is so plentiful.  Take lettuce for example:  I am buying a spring mix of lettuce from Sand Hill Preservation Center for $2.00.  I will cut that lettuce over and over again making so many salads all spring.  It costs at least $2.00 to buy 8 oz. of spring lettuce mix in the grocery store, and I can only make one salad with that amount!  

I also buy seeds at my local farm and garden store, Bowman's.  I like to support the local economy and they have a great selection and prices.  

New ideas:
This year, I want to add some permaculture ideas.  I have been reading many books.  My favorite is called The Resilient Farm and Homestead by Ben Falk.  I love the ideas of planting food on our land in a way that is beneficial and focuses on self-reliance.  I like the idea of planting a guild, where a group of trees, shrubs, and plants benefit each other and builds the soil.  

A perennial plant guild includes:
ground cover (strawberries)
insectary plants (Black-eyed Susan, Yarrow)
pollinators (Echinacea also know as Cone flower)
mulchers (Comfrey, Horseradish, Rhubarb)
nitrogen fixer (Wild blue indigo, Lupine)

I would like to implement a grapevine guild this spring.  Last year, for Slade's birthday, we planted three grapevines, transplanted my grapevine, and Mike built an arbor.  So this year, around the vines, I want to add other plants that will support the vines by building the soil, bringing good insects, and bringing pollinators.






I would also like to start growing mushrooms.  The process in described well in some of the books, including Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist.  (Source:  Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist by Michael Judd)

I think it is important to go with what works, but try some new things, too.  What are you trying new this year?