Planning Time--- Trying to Keep It Simple!

BEGINNING PLANS!  Notes in my journal!

Planning on changing plants around to different beds!

Helpful Worksheet as I plan out next year!



Vegetable Planting Guide Worksheet
ese are general guidelines. Growing times can vary greatly depending on the seed
variety you select. Check seed packet for exact growing and planting times.
1. Write “Date of Last Frost” for your region in the space provided below.
(See: www.almanac.com)
2. Using a calendar, calculate the “planting date” by adding or subtracting the
number of weeks listed from the “Date of Last Frost.”
3. Calculate the “Sow Date” by subtracting the “Growth Period” from the “Planting
Date.” (Sow Date is the date to sow seed indoors or in a greenhouse for transplanting
into the garden after the last frost.)
Seed/Plant
Beans* 8 to10
Beets* 8 to 10 2-3 weeks after
Broccoli 8 to 10 2 weeks before
Brussels Sprouts 16 to 19 3 weeks before
Cabbage 13 to 17 3 weeks before
Carrots* 8 to 10 1-2 weeks after
Cauliflower 8 to 10 2 weeks before
Collards 4 to 6 4 weeks before
Corn* 9 to 12 2 weeks after
Cucumber* 6 to 12 1-2 weeks after
Eggplant 14 to 20 3 weeks after
Lettuce 4 to 7 1-2 weeks after
Greens* 5 to 7 Soon as soil can be worked
Okra 4 to 6 2-4 weeks after
Onion* 8 to 10 2-3 weeks before
Parsley 8 to 10 2 weeks before
Peas* 8 to 10 4-6 weeks before
Peppers 8 to 10 2 weeks after
Potatoes* 10 to 20 2-3 weeks after
Pumpkin* 15 to 18 2-3 weeks after
Radish* 4 3-4 weeks before
Spinach* 6 to 7 3-6 weeks before
Winter Squash* 13 to 22 2 weeks after
Tomato 8 to 12 1 week after
Zucchini* 2 to 4 2 weeks after
*Seeds can be direct-sown in the garden soil. Other seeds will need to be starte







http://www.vegetable-gardening-online.com/raised-bed-vegetable-garden.html

Slowing Down-Planning for Next Year

Several nights of "almost freezing" and our growth time is slowing down quickly!! One final bed needs amended manure, compost and grass clippings and leaves.  I'm moving in plants and tools and taking in my owner to be fixed and put away.  So in the spirit of wrapping up I'm making notes now and planning for next year.

To Do Next year:

• Plant more potatoes!
• Make more raised beds.
• Create my own custom tomato cages.
• PUT UP A PRIVACY FENCE!
• Draw garden layout and organize plant ordering now!
• Space my plants more realistically.
• Put stakes out immediately when I plant.
• Beg my husband to make a drip system and water collection system for me.
• Write when and where I plant everything AS I plant them!
• Peruse the dumping spots for flat rocks and bricks to finish a path around my beds.
• Re-design berm with the plants for butterflies and grasses.
• Cover herb beds.

David's Raised Bed Design

I have loved my raised beds that David and the boys made for me.  My goal all summer was to put in the Buster Bed!  Buster was our very loved family pet and the bed is where we buried him.  It was a beautiful day with two boys so we decided to get it done.  Although when we were finish...we all missed Buster and were wistful for Joshua.

People have asked how we made ours so this is it...  I do use clear caulking to fill in the larger cracks in the joints and I water proof the wood later.

Leveled!

4X4X6 Treated Post

Deciding the Lay Out.  (Oops you can see the chair that is waiting for a trip to the dump!)

Is It Square?

Drilling the Holes!

  

Drilling the holes through.  Two on each corner.  They set up the corners so they are super sturdy!

Hammering in Two Foot Re-bar.... Way Harder Than It Looks!

Next Step:  Fill the bed with the compost and dirt that I've been saving and water.  Add the chicken manure and grass clippings and it will be ready to work through the winter.  It will be our pepper bed!

Fall is in the Air

It is feeling rather fallish!!!  I love a long and drawn out autumn but have a feeling that this is not the year.  It just seems different.  My cottonwood trees are shedding a few leaves and am not sure if that is from the heat earlier or... gasp.... fall!!!

Beginning fall clean up chores while nurturing those tomatoes, peppers and beans to keep producing!  

Winter is time for the soil to do what the soil does! My job is giving it an environment to do that.

Putting in a new bed so the grass clippings can be doing its thing over the winter.

Watering deeply.  

Bringing home from the chicken house and barn bags of manure.

Sprinkling Epson salt on my yard and around the trees.

Pruning and transplanting.

Mulching and protecting.

Tucking everything in for the winter rest.

Fall is a good feeling.  

A sense of harvest and warmth.  Hope.

Pruning Tomatoes

The mornings and evenings are beginning to have a fall feel to them.  My tomato are finally turning red after the 3rd time of taking the shears to them.

What Worked For Me:

1.  I started at the bottom cutting the crowded stems and new growth.


2.  Pruned on the sides taking off the extra stems and leaves leaving only the main step with the fruit on them.


3.  Went over the top pinching off the new growth at the end of every stem.

Professional Know How

"A tomato is a solar-powered sugar factory. For the first month or so, all of the sugar it produces is directed towards new leaf growth. During this stage, tomato plants grow very rapidly, doubling their size every 12 to 15 days. Eventually, the plants make more sugar than the single growing tip can use, which signals the plant to make new branches and to flower. This usually happens after 10 to 13 leaves have expanded, at which time the plant is 12 to 18 inches tall. In the next few weeks, the entire character of the tomato plant changes. If unsupported, the increasing weight of filling fruit and multiple side branches forces the plant to lie on the ground. Once the main stem is horizontal, there is an increased tendency to branch. Left to its own devices, a vigorous indeterminate tomato plant can easily cover a 4- by 4-foot area with as many as 10 stems, each 3 to 5 feet long. By season's end, it will be an unsightly, impenetrable, disease-wracked tangle." http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx

Random Pictures

Beginning Repairs such as filling in old holes where the boys were playing war!

The Old Garden Shed

Hanging plastic.  I loved using the staple gun!

Spray foam insulation.  Hammer in old nails.  Spread plastic sheeting.  Caulk holes and seams.  Someday-new siding!!

An old birdhouse made from my Great Grandparent's Barn.  I used caulking to put in on my post.

Beginning of the Russian Sage and native grass plus my Karl Grass!

Planted Potatoes using old salvaged tires against the old fence in my yard where it is hard to grow anything!

And they grew!

Constructive Thinking Time

Doing things seems to free my mind and my spirit to reflect and recharge.  The last few days I've taken off from work and "should" be doing many important things like cleaning my house or laundry.  

However, I have spent quite a few of my hours:  buying 6 Mil plastic and stapling the inside of my "new" shed, spraying foam insulation,  and caulking to fill in holes where the boys were attacked by an intruder when it was their fort.  While I painted, I was visited by wasp, garden snakes and butterflies.  My dog, of course kept watch!

I scored big at both the hardware and the lumber yard where I found light bulbs for plants that are perfect for my heating lamp and cheap!

I'm going to pull off an East Panel and cover with plastic, put up some shelves on that wall some hanging baskets.  Now to decide what to plant for fall both out and within.

Any ideas????

Outside:

1. Potato

2. Carrots

  

Inside:

1. Tomato

2. Pepper