plans

The weather is teasing me. Mild, warm days make me think I should be out there digging and cleaning up and tucking young lettuce into the ground. But I know it's too cold and the ground is frozen. Apparently some plants still feel like it's an early spring, too- a lone crocus is peeking its colors out in my front yard. And the local grocery store is already selling seed and soil, even though the garden centers don't open until march. My thumb itches, so I splurged and bought some of that soil, even though it's packaged smaller and costs twice as much than the larger bags I usually pick up at the nursery.

I didn't buy any seed, though. Came home and opened my seed jars in the fridge, sorted through what I have into three piles: plant this year, save for another year, excess (particularly lettuce) I might give away or try to swap. I'm definitely hoping to plant more than last year, but still not sure how much I'll be able to manage with a one-year-old at heels, so I'm not using all the plots- letting the one near the small back patio (that was full of uneaten beets) and the one next to the rhubarb patch (recently converted from lawn and then let go back to weeds again) sit fallow this year. This is what I'm hoping to grow:

carrots
cantaloupe
beets
garlic
lettuce
tomatoes
broccoli
green beans
zucchini
peas
cucumbers
hot and bell peppers

and of course the obligate marigolds, tithonias, perennial strawberries and rhubarb, and herbs. The mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and lavendar are all still alive out there, so I'll just need to plant cilantro and basil, thinking of trying chives again this year (never got it to grow from seed yet).

And these are all seeds from my fridge. There are quite a few in there I'm not planting- for lack of space and thinking I might not be able to take care of it all. Plus I'm worried about getting another wave of cucumber beetles, or harlequin bugs or something so I'm keeping the melons and squashes to just a few. I do want to try adding butternut squash and brussel sprouts to my garden, perhaps next year...

I took a bit more care with my garden map this year, using the little chart that tells me which crops should follow which, as well as avoiding anything in the same family being in the same spot more than three years in a row. It took a little more time to figure it out but I think I have it right and hopefully will mean healthier plants?