Winter Gardening
Tom showed up at the house about a month ago with his John Deere tractor (I have found myself wanting one), complete with one heck of a 4 foot wide garden tiller; his focus was to break up the ground, in the designated area, in preparation for a winter garden.
You might remember my first attempt last year which began far too late in the season, November, but was still able to produce a ridiculous amount of lettuce and radishes. The broccoli and spinach, however, fell prey to my inexperience and lack of preparation.
Well, now that we are country dwellers…I have planned ahead and read some books! It would appear that there is more to growing food than just tossing some seed on the ground…who knew.
I’m sure that John Degarmo knew, mainly because last year I went to visit him right after I had planted my garden, and by the information he was sharing with me, I was sure that the only thing I was going to see grow was going to be nothing!
This year, I heeded what John said. I planned the location, read the almanac, got a gardening book from some friends, (now that I think about it, I think I still have some books that John loaned me last year…sorry John!), and called my friend Tom.
When Tom left after his second trip out, there was a fantastic stretch of tilled up ground that was fertilized and ready for seed. I chose to plant on Friday, the first day of fall, because that was when the farmer’s almanac said to, and I listened!
Something else that was pretty neat was that when I went to buy my seeds at our two local farm supply stores, nobody looked at me like I was totally nuts, or like I was a completely incompetent city person trying to plant two months late.
No sir, this year I am valid…official…part of the country clan…have dirty hands and a camo hat (Mossy Oak no doubt); yes I have a house in the country, a riding mower, a garden hose longer than 20 feet, and I have an awesome garden with seeds in the ground, did I mention the sprinkler?
On Friday the children and I hoed up the rows and planted the seeds which included beets, spinach, lettuce, turnip greens, mustard greens, broccoli, brussel sprouts, red cabbage, carrots, radishes, ornamental kale, garlic, and onions …it was an awesome day.
We turned on the sprinkler and felt great about our project. We were even more excited on Monday morning when we realized that our seeds were already growing…wow!!!
Now, if you know anything about me you know that I have a propensity to over-react and to get a little excited about stuff; and you will understand this when I say that today I went out searching for a greenhouse.
Yes ladies and gentlemen…me and the kids have a terrific idea; one that includes a greenhouse, seeds, dirt, a heating system, irrigation system, and a gardening sparkle in our eyes. Today I found the green house, and plan to have it up soon.
Somehow, I feel like I need to give John Degarmo a call before we get started…now, where did I put his books!
Jason, father of six