What's next...

The house cleaning is coming along nicely. I've relaxed a bit and am enjoying it more. Don't get me wrong, I don't find cleaning to be enjoyable by itself. However, when doing a all-over, spring cleaning, it can be kinda fun. I like moving furniture around and redecorating and re-purposing. And, now that Asher is a little older, I don't have to be so baby-conscious in how I decorate and set-up cupboards and drawers. I'm also one of those people who puts something in a "safe place" and completely forgets about it. Doing a cleaning like this means unearthing a lot of "lost treasures".

Now that the second half of January is underway, it's time to start planning my garden. Why so early? Last year, I believe I started planning in February and it was a bit close. Any seeds that I want to start indoors will actually need to get going pretty quick. So, in an effort to not feel so under the gun this year, I'm going to start planning now.

Which means:
* Figuring out frost dates and making a gardening calendar.
* Making a list of all I want to grow, how much of each and where they will be planted.
* Figure out what plants can be started from seeds by me and when.
* Begin working on dates for planting in the actual garden.
* Decide if I will need to rent a plot in our community garden.

I did all of this last year with the guidance of Thy Hand Hath Provided and her wonderful gardening tutorial and on line at the Gardener's Supply Company. They have a way for you to plan out your square foot garden on their website and then you can print it out along with great info on what you are planting. This year I will also be using information gathered from The Grocery Shrink on how much to plant per person to last a year.

I do plan on doing the square foot garden again this year. I really liked how it worked for me last year and would highly recommend it.

I also plan on being more realistic in what I choose to plant. I had a lot of things going last year, which was fun and I learned lots. But it wasn't realistic for us as a family. I felt like we wasted a lot (although the chickens would beg to differ). Like, no beets (my husband is the only one who likes beets and he never eats them) and no big, slicing tomatoes (just grape and Roma) and, even though I think they are the prettiest things, no peas:(. They just take up too much room and you get so little in return. Plus I'd like to use the back corner of our property that actually gets sunlight for things like pumpkins.

Now, I'm getting excited about my garden! As I figure things out, I'll fill you in. Now for the... You guessed it! Laundry!!!:) Enjoy your day!