2010…er I mean 2009 Gardening Resolutions
Why, hello there. Remember me? I’ve been taking a little break to visit with family and friends and dip my toes into the ocean. While I was lolling away on the beach I dreamed up lots of new recipes, a really good idea for the site, and of course, a few gardening resolutions.
Gardening is really well suited to resolutions because there is always bound to be big failures (ahem, remember when my chickens ate my entire fall garden) and big successes (like the Pepper Palace). So, drum roll please, this is what I hope to accomplish in the coming 358 days:
1. Learn to Can. I can’t tell you how much I want to can. I want to line my cupboards with dilly beans, and syrupy peaches, and cans of tomatoes. I want jars and jars of applesauce and chow chow. I want to bring my friends homemade jam. I want to be able to eat food I grew myself all winter. So I must learn to can. I must!
2. Grow Salad from March through November. I always plant lots of salad in spring. My fridge is stuffed with it in April. I send Jon off to work with bags of greens to give away. And then I get distracted. I forget to plant more baby greens. Or, I plant more baby greens and then forget to water them. And come August, when I finally have tomatoes and peppers to put in my salad, I have no greens. So, first I’m putting together a succession planting plan based on one I wrote for Organic Gardening last year. Then, I’m going to try to follow my own advice!
3. Start a Community Beehive. I want to taste honey that comes from bees that buzz about in my own yard. How cool would that be? I’d like to think that it will be dark, and rich, and flavorful. I also hope it is good enough to share, because I’m sure the bees won’t just stick around my 6400 square feet of property. They’ll probably stray over to the apple tree next door and across the street to the lavender. So I think it’s only fair to share with the neighbors. To start, I just got a book on natural beekeeping. And I’m planning on joining Puget Sound Beekeepers Association. Stay tuned.
4. Try 2 Brand New Vegetables I’ve Never Grown Before. Last summer I was visiting the Brentwood Community Garden in Portland and became completely smitten with a gorgeous stand of sunflowers. Only they weren’t sunflowers. They were Jerusalem Artichokes. I am so planting them this year because you get fantastic flowers and tasty tubers, too. I’m also weighing growing Belgian endive or maybe cardoon. Whatever my second choice is I want it to be challenging to grow and hard to find at the supermarket or just plain weird. Can you think of any other candidates??
I’m excited to hear about your plans and I send you my best wishes for a New Year with lots of sun, just enough rain, and plenty of surprises.
Photographic evidence of the moment that I (pictured on the far right) decided having a beehive at home would be totally cool. Thanks, Marguerite!
cool, what about *this* year?
also – can you link to the salad green article?
January 7th, 2009 at 11:32 pmI am a novice gardener embarking on my first veggie garden…
eek!
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January 8th, 2009 at 12:11 amAll wonderful resolutions. But your title threw me…
Don’t you mean 2009?
;-D
You crack me up. Most people write the OLD year by mistake. But you are already planning through 2010!
I especially like the idea of growing new veggies. Keep us posted on that and the beekeeping. What fun…What fun!
January 8th, 2009 at 5:19 amOh My Gosh! I’m so embarrassed that I said 2010. Let me explain! I work for a gardening magazine and I’m at a meeting where we are talking about what we want to do for…2010. So my brain has apparently already skipped to next year. Thanks for pointing that out!
January 8th, 2009 at 6:04 amOh, and eM, on my About page there is a PDF of the salad article. It has a succession planting plan in it.
January 8th, 2009 at 6:14 amOooh, I will have to check out that article- I just bought a 1/4 lb (maybe too much….) mesclun mix from Baker Creek Seeds. I am looking to start with bees sometime soon as well. I have checked out all the “bee” books at the library, but that’s as far as I’ve made it. I tried cardoons last year for the first time, and I think it’s too hot in Kentucky or I didn’t prepare them correctly. Even with blanching, they were bitter, like the stem of an artichoke. (I love artichoke and am always greedy, trying to eat the stem. The inside part is good, but the outside, so bitter!) I am going to try them again though- they are so exotic and cool.
January 8th, 2009 at 6:49 amI am so excited to read about your bee adventures. I like the idea of gardening resolutions. I would love to make something like your Pepper Palace in one of our raised beds this year.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:02 amHi Willi…I have a jar of honey from our hive for you! I plan to add a second hive this year. You should check out the big article the Seattle Times wrote about honey in the US.(December 31) Its enough to make you buy only local honey, period!
I want to start going to the BeeKeepers meetings, perhaps we could ride together.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:18 amBbbzzz!
January 8th, 2009 at 2:47 pmKatie–It’s so cool you tried Cardoon. I love the way they look, so even if they end up being bitter I think it will be worth it.
Marguerite–Yes! Let’s carpool to the meetings and I’m so excited to try the honey.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:51 amHey Willi,
Glad your back! Canning can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. I remember being at my grandmothers house in the summer and she would spend a whole day canning green beans or freezing corn. Now I enjoy canning as well. I especially enjoy canning my own salsa using my romas, onions, peppers and herbs from the garden – your going to love it!
Alan
January 10th, 2009 at 7:03 amHappy New Year Willi!
I love your resolutions. I could just copy a couple of them and add them to my list, especially #2 – I am so bad at continuing what I start in March!
I learned to can last year, and it’s really not so difficult. I had the Fear, but I have now eaten several jars of my own produce and I haven’t keeled over yet. Just follow a good book, or ask your grandma to spend the day with you and teach you
My resolutions are here: http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2009/01/new-years-resolutions-2009/
January 10th, 2009 at 12:17 pmPS: How cool is that beekeeping idea? I *love* it and can’t wait to hear how it works out for you. I’d do it in a flash, except we live in a townhouse and I can guarantee it wouldn’t fly with the other 37 owners here!
January 10th, 2009 at 12:19 pmThe bee keeping is GENIUS!
January 11th, 2009 at 5:06 pmI need to sart such a project…and what a creation of community it would be
Happy New year, love this post thanks for inspiring me:) My workshops are set up to begin 1/24. I’ll share more later.
January 11th, 2009 at 5:27 pmIf you’re inclined to post your succession planting list once you get around to making it, that would be really fab. I’m a Seattle gardener, and I dream every year of getting organized enough to plan out a year of planting, but alas, work seems to get in the way of my big dreams!
Oh, and I noticed the mention of the recent news expose on honey. Scary, but really interesting article. Here’s the link: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/honey/.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:01 pm