Remember as a kid when people would say your eyes were bigger than your stomach? That is what happens to me this time of year. I look through all the beautiful seed catalogs, attend winter farming conferences and get heaps of new ideas. I want to try a bunch of new stuff! But my eyes can sometimes be bigger than our garden.
We invest a lot of time into winter planning and preparing. Every minute we spend is worth it, because when spring and summer arrive there is no time for long hours of contemplation. We must simply get things done! There were certainly times in the early years of the farm when we didn't plan well. We started seeds whenever time allowed, transplanted them whenever it wasn't raining and hoped we had enough for everyone. It worked, for the most part.
Now that our farm has grown to serve more than 70 farm share (also called Community Supported Agriculture) members, time spent planning is a must. We recently opened up registration for this year's growing season and people have been signing up fast! Knowing that we will have another good sized group inspires us to keep planning. With just one and a half acres of garden in use at our farm, each section of soil plays an important role. Garden space is planted, harvested, replanted and harvested again. We grow intensively on our soil, but we also do our best to replenish it with cover crops, manure and other natural fertilizers. Keeping our garden space small helps us stay in tune with what is happening with weeds, pests and other issues. A person can easily do a walk through to see what is coming ready and what needs more time. This is a more challenging task in the 10 acre pumpkin field!
The only downside to a small acreage is that there isn't a lot of room for error or experiments that don't work out. I find a way, though. That's what makes it fun! I try to balance out the space needed for our main crops, while leaving some wiggle room to have some fun with new varieties and experiments. While not all of them are successful, some turnout okay. This is how I end up planting 20 different kinds of tomatoes and more than 20 different types of peppers...I try new things and I love them all!
I am looking forward to the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Conference later in January, as I always get some good ideas there from presenters and other growers. Meanwhile, my time for dreaming and preparing for summer continues. Garden planning is a great way to spend my winter nights....flipping through seed catalogs and reflecting on all the great things we could grow this year. Maybe I should just order one of everything!
Hopefully in the end, my eyes aren't bigger than the garden. What new garden item do you want to try this summer?
We invest a lot of time into winter planning and preparing. Every minute we spend is worth it, because when spring and summer arrive there is no time for long hours of contemplation. We must simply get things done! There were certainly times in the early years of the farm when we didn't plan well. We started seeds whenever time allowed, transplanted them whenever it wasn't raining and hoped we had enough for everyone. It worked, for the most part.
Now that our farm has grown to serve more than 70 farm share (also called Community Supported Agriculture) members, time spent planning is a must. We recently opened up registration for this year's growing season and people have been signing up fast! Knowing that we will have another good sized group inspires us to keep planning. With just one and a half acres of garden in use at our farm, each section of soil plays an important role. Garden space is planted, harvested, replanted and harvested again. We grow intensively on our soil, but we also do our best to replenish it with cover crops, manure and other natural fertilizers. Keeping our garden space small helps us stay in tune with what is happening with weeds, pests and other issues. A person can easily do a walk through to see what is coming ready and what needs more time. This is a more challenging task in the 10 acre pumpkin field!
The only downside to a small acreage is that there isn't a lot of room for error or experiments that don't work out. I find a way, though. That's what makes it fun! I try to balance out the space needed for our main crops, while leaving some wiggle room to have some fun with new varieties and experiments. While not all of them are successful, some turnout okay. This is how I end up planting 20 different kinds of tomatoes and more than 20 different types of peppers...I try new things and I love them all!
I am looking forward to the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Conference later in January, as I always get some good ideas there from presenters and other growers. Meanwhile, my time for dreaming and preparing for summer continues. Garden planning is a great way to spend my winter nights....flipping through seed catalogs and reflecting on all the great things we could grow this year. Maybe I should just order one of everything!
Hopefully in the end, my eyes aren't bigger than the garden. What new garden item do you want to try this summer?