After a full-year hiatus and some serious thought as to discontinuing the blog, I finally decided to scale back and carry on, focusing on everything garden.
So then, to pick up where I left off . . .
My garden goals for 2022 were clearly defined: I wanted to attempt the no-dig garden method, give my composting a serious upgrade, expand the veggie plot, and build a sun-powered food dehydrator. I made good on all but the no-dig thing, and threw together a quick little slideshow to document my relative success.
While I mostly gave up on the idea of no-dig for the main garden area—where we (as in, hubby) till only where I plant, then mulch everything heavily and fill the paths with straw—the somewhere-between-two-and-three-hundred square-foot addition of last summer (I never actually measured it) is simply an expanse of lawn grass, covered in black plastic and strewn with raised beds, cold frames, and even old tires, creating a very low-maintenance space for all the squash my heart desires. If, in the future, I decide to pull up the plastic and work up the ground, it's safe to say we won't be tilling much in the way of weeds.
As for the compost upgrade last summer, I happily report that I'm learning the trick (#notatrick) to the process. I'm also pretty happy with how the dehydrator turned out—it really heats up and will dry a boat load of herbs and veggies.
While Hubby would say that the garden is mine and that I do all the work, that is a long way from the truth; indeed, I could not accomplish much without him! He tills the ground, builds sheds, beds and cold frames—just about anything I come up with, really (thus, the food dehydrator). He maintains the tools, hauls loads of dirt and straw, cuts the grass, and is the muscle behind a good number of projects. Heck, my man even pulls weeds!
Most of my ambition for this year's garden will simply pick up on last year's projects, but I do have a few new ideas for 2023. For one, I want to plant corn and cucumbers in with the potatoes (yes, you read that correctly); I also want to succession plant all summer long, and I'm not just talking spinach, here.
For now, my seed-starting bed is set up and raring to go, so I'll continue with some spring house cleaning while waiting for the right time to poke those seeds into dirt. Last year I jumped the gun and paid the price with leggy starts that were begging to get outside long before the earth had sufficiently warmed. And I won't do that again!
If you've never experienced the joy
of accomplishing more than you can imagine,
plant a garden.
—Robert Brault
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