Planning for Next Year

During this fall, there is much to do regarding gardening, not to mention all the other activities we seem to be involved in.  I had hoped to have more posts here and see that I need to be more disciplined about getting it done.  Hmmm...that sounds a bit like my gardening, too!  With that in mind, I am creating a Vegetable garden plan for next year while this and other lessons are fresh in my mind.

For the first time this year, I rented a garden space in Preston.  A few people stated that that seemed like a long way to go for gardening.  I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to travel the 16 miles to the east to tend a garden.  I have to confess that it was an utter failure!  I became too busy and the time slipped away.  If anyone visited the Preston community garden, you only had to look for the plot that was total weeds - that was mine!

So, without dwelling on that negativity too much longer, I now know that YES, it was too far to go.  I have a few other options for the additional garden space I was looking for last year.  A friend of mine has offered space at her rental property - only 1/2 block from our home.  And the space is great!  It gently slopes to the west and has great sun exposure.  I would need to till up or chemically remove the grass/weeds that have grown there in the past few years since someone last worked the soil.  With my general avoidance of chemicals, I'd opt to borrow a tiller to get it ready.

But before I do that, I want to carefully consider my own backyard.  I've been hesitant in the past to add much garden space because I like the area as a grassy place for the kids.  And there's that convenience thing.  The stakes are higher if I am at someone else's property - it must not look like a weed bed!  So, will this be motivation or embarrassment?  If the additional garden is in my backyard, there SHOULD be no extra excuses of distance and time. 

While pondering the location, I need to think about what I've grown in the past few years.  Of the vegetables I've grown, I need to consider the space they will require and future rotation to help minimize diseases.  I will think about this and post again soon.  My purpose of this discussion with myself is to assist others in planning or modifying a garden.  As always, I hope this helps!

And I want to close with a quote that a fellow Master Gardener posted the other day.  "The blood of our fallen heroes fertilized that dirt on your hands, to the keep the right to call it your own."  Please always keep all of our U.S. military members in your thoughts and prayers.  Be thankful for them, past and present, for they've sacrificed so much for our country.