January gardening--Dianne

Maria's right, I received the first seed catalog on Christmas Eve!  Usually they arrive after the first of the year.  I already had an afternoon with it, marking seeds, plants, and this red vinyl mulch cloth that is supposed to make tomatoes grow better.  I may get some to try, my problem is adding more plastic to the waste stream, because eventually this stuff will start to break down in the sunlight, and have to be disposed of. 
I have also researched best prices on red, and yellow raspberries, and thornless blackberries.  I know I want more in the garden,  just need to figure out where they will get the most sun in the backyard.  Also trying to plot out the garden so as to grow stuff where it was NOT planted last year, that's  plant rotation.

Since we cut down a huge, probably 80-90 year old tree in the front yard, that cast a big shadow, I have a big open space for more sunloving plants, and will probably introduce more veg into the front garden.   I have an old grow light from my wonderful (sob!) left-behind greenhouse at our country house, Bill is talking about clearing off (!) a table of tools in the basement and setting me up down there for seed starting.  I don't really have a good spot  in this yard for a greenhouse, too many big trees still, and neighbor's house throws a big shadow.   so have to fiddle around with seed starting.  I have a heat mat to use to get things jump-started, so need to dust that off.   Young plants thrive on early morning light, so if you start seeds outside, make sure they get all the morning light they can.  Also, if you are starting things inside,  when seedlings are up about an inch, I think that is when you want to start exposing them to a light breeze from a fan, so they will grow a stronger stem.  Keeping the light close to the plants also keeps them from getting leggy, if using a grow light.

I feel myself starting to slow down, and not wanting to spend all my time in the garden in the summer.  Especially after the oppressive, extended heat we had last summer.  How do I get the same yield, with less time and effort?  Intensive planting,  and less backyard garden.  (didn't I just say something about adding more fruits?) I'm looking for zukes and cukes that grow semi-vine, or bush, and may grow less tomatoes, but spend more time caring for the ones I have.  I am cutting back on stuff no one really eats, like radishes, and some lettuces, cabbage, and doing more with stuff we really like,,, brussel sprouts, (yes, really!) melons,  squashes, sweet potatoes. I remember that when I started gardening after our marriage, a nameless mother-in-law of mine INSISTED that I plant lima beans, because she always did. It wouldn't be a garden without them.  I HATE lima beans and refused to plant them, (hey, it's MY garden) and I think she has never forgotten that.  I'm the argumentative daughter-in-law. 

And, oh, yes, the sweet potatoes,  NEVER again in the back garden where the &^%$$ groundhog helped himself to the leaves as a nibbling snack daily.  The plants spent more time reviving and leaf growing than they did producing tubers, so they go in the front, where he never seems to come.  Sweet potatoes like to spread out,  I had a problem keeping them weeded last year, lots of rain in the spring, then hot, and dry,  weather was not my friend.  I may try planting them amidst the iris and daylilies, as a living mulch, the leaves are pretty and stay green late into the fall. 

I saw a report on farming in Africa where they are trying to get more orange sweet potatoes to grow, instead of the indigenous yellow, because of the beta carotene contained in the orange potato, which helps prevent blindness. In areas where they have persuaded the farmers to switch, there has been a noticeable reduction in onset of blindness, especially in the young.   Just a simple switch makes a big difference.  Maria and I have a friend who is currently in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer, to teach more sustainable gardening/farming techniques.  I hope he is successful.  I don't think gardening in that tropical area would be anything like farming for his dad in Ladoga, Indiana.  But he's a smart guy, I'm sure he'll do well.  His blogspot, very interesting is

http://rockytogo.blogspot.com/   by Daniel Goshorn-Maroney, son of our retired Orthodox priest.

I hit up 1/2pricebooks the other day and bought up all the gardening magazines, for .50 ea.,  with 20% off, that's .40, folks,   unless you buy them in bulk at the library sale , that ain't too shabby.   One I'm really impressed with is Urban Farm,  last month's issue, when I'm done reading it, I'm passing along to Maria because it is EXACTLY her vision for her gardening.  See if you can get your library to subscribe. 

http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/

Last spring I tested my soil and found it was very lacking in essential the  3 minerals, Potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen,  and bought those to add in.  Then I read an article from a hardcore organic gardener about more natural homemade fertilizers, I need to do more of that.  Calcium is an essential for tomatoes, so they don't get blossom end rot.  I have crunched up saved eggshells before and added into the planting hole.  If I find a mix that has readily available ingredients for Indiana, I'll post it.   Many have ingredients like "seaweed," not available here,   or "stuff collected from a grain handler"  which we have around here, but not sure if they give away chaff, which is essentially what the organic guy was talking about.

I was just contemplating dividing up many perennials and relocating them in the front garden, then found out that a young friend and his wife are moving back to Crawfordsville to a house.  I promised him years ago that I would help him get a garden going, so here's my excuse to have more shovel-time and to clean up the garden a bit.  Lilies and iris love to be divided every few years, it uncrowds them and revives the plants.

Start thinking about your summer garden now, so mistakes are corrected and you are prepared for a better garden this year. I have gardened since I was a child, and still need to learn more.   New ideas keep croppng up in the organic gardening world, and sustainable living is something we should all be thinking about.  Not so much, "I want to live like my grandparents did."  I think that's silly ( my American grandmother had an outhouse in Indy until 1972)  but I want to think more about using less, and living with less, recycling a bit more, reusing things I already have, or have acquired.  I know I keep clothes a long time, and I also have my own parking space at Goodwill.

Please don't inquire about my knitting/quilting closet and budget.  That would be considered NOYB....
ahem....  Remember, I knit and quilt for good, not evil. 

Dianne,  whose only contact with dirt at the moment is sweeping it off the kitchen floor.