Hey, anyone remember that whole baby gestating thing I have going on? Yeah, well, in addition to the thousand other ways it's going to alter our very existence (TWO children? whose idea was this again?), I cannot for the life of me figure out the garden for this coming season.
There will be a garden, that is not the question. The question is, how much garden and what will be in it? I can't see how I can manage the whole space we have--which is almost 2,000 square feet--even with the participation of A. and the MiL, both of whom have said they'll step in more.
I appreciate their offers, but the reality is that they both work actual jobs and the garden has been my job. So what happens when I need some maternity leave from this job right in the middle of the growing season? God knows.
There will be tomatoes. But how many? How much enthusiasm am I going to have for tomato canning while dealing with a two year old and a two month old? I suspect not much. But the prospect of going another winter with only these disgusting store canned tomatoes is not to be tolerated, so I think that must be a priority.
I haven't even sat down with the seed basket to see what I have. When I do, I have to really try to be realistic about how much I can even get planted when I'm seven or eight months pregnant, much less harvest and maybe process with a newborn to deal with.
I suspect part of the garden will lie fallow this year and just get planted with a cover crop. But I also suspect I will still end up doing too much and regretting it. I kind of have a history of doing that, even when there isn't a new bundle of demanding, up-all-night joy gracing my life.
One year of gardening is a small, inconsequential blip in the grand scope of my life. But not to me.
12 comments:
If you've got alot of canned veggies from last year still, maybe only plant stuff for fresh eating this year.
I canned tomatoes too last year and forgot that I'd frozen some of the early arrivals that were too few in numbers to can a batch of them. Maybe you could still plant a bunch of tomatoes, freeze them and then deal with saucing and canning them down later after the baby's born. (Not that you'll have much time for it then either...)
Congrats on the new little one.
All I can say is mulch, mulch, mulch - much less work from weeding. Perhaps you can try growing potatoes with a straw mulch cover instead of hilling.
I guess it's always better to over plant and not use than to underplant and wish you had done more!
I've been wondering the same thing as a move may be in my future. With our new goal of getting the house on the market by the first of July - I'm wondering how much time I should invest in a garden - would hate to leave it all behind if the house sold right away. The reality is it probably won't for a few months, so I should be able to harvest most everything. That being said, I might have a new garden by then to move some plants to.
Does anyone sell any home-canned goods at a farmer's market nearby? That way you could still get the good stuff without doing all the work. Yep, when you want the lazy way out, come to me, my friend.
On your extra freezer you must depend,
for tomatoes that will never end,
It will be the same,
and there is no shame,
Using frozen instead of canned.
Beth
How about looking for some local jr. high, high school, or college students who need a part-time summer job and would welcome the opportunity to learn some of your "secrets" for successful garden care and canning? The cost should be low, and the student(s) would benefit much, much much. I think.
I jaunted over here from Chiot's. The last baby kicked my gardening mojo pretty badly -- and she was the fourth.
It got better, but not really for a couple of years. If we had to rely on my gardening, and if I were not homeschooling, it might have been a faster recovery. I'm sure you'll get it figured out easily and smoothly. Blessings on you both.
May I suggest cover crops for almost all of the garden. Have A till them in as needed. Buckwheat is fantastic. Till it in when it starts to flower and immediately replant (just spread by hand and scuff lightly with the back of a garden rake). Rinse, repeat all summer until fall. Buckwheat grows so quickly and thickly that you will get the weeds under control. So in addition to adding some organic matter, you will have a major reduction in weeds the following summer.
I'd skip the canning tomatoes and just buy a couple of bushels next August. Better yet get a 1/2 bushel at a time so you aren't overwhelmed trying to can them all at once.
There must be some local CSA's available? I'd go that route this summer. Concentrate on a kick ass herb garden. Preferably a raised bed herb garden so you don't have to deal with bending with a big belly or a newborn.
Your job this summer should concentrate on taking care of yourself 1st. Lots of long leisurely walks with Cubby toddling along. Swimming if that's your thing is wonderful for 3rd trimester. Exercise while being water cooled! Take what energy you have and focus on the best meals you can make with food someone else grows for you this summer. My guess is that will be enough. From experience I can tell you two isn't twice the work, it's more like 3 times the work. Give yourself a break so you can enjoy it!
I would however suggest you put in a small kid garden to occupy Cubby and teach him about gardening. Kids need to play in the dirt and it would be a shame to skip all that fun. Then you can still say you had a garden and not feel like you missed out in the summer of 2012.
Anon already said what I was going to suggest. Find some students who want to learn. Got a local 4H you can call? Maybe you could teach an extension class.
I face the same dilemma. We will be moving sometime this summer - probably late, but still summer. So how much do I plant and when and where? And can I sneak back and harvest some after we've gone??
I agree with Chiot's - plant some potatoes in straw - worked well for me and next to no effort.
It's crazy how much work goes into even a smaller, less fuss pea patch.
And all the bending over. Oy vay.
My plan is to plant 2 types of cherry tomato and possibly one large version with no plans to can (possibly cook & freeze for salsa through the winter?), 3 squash types, 2 bean bushes and leave it at that. I was going to give chili peppers a serious go this summer, but I don't know if I can handle any more. The good news is, that with mine due at the end of July and it only being my first, the newborn period is right when the garden needs the least work (because it will be 100+ degrees, ugh). I'm just hoping what we do before May will tide us through. Although right now? The sciatica and lack of eating is really not helping.
I like Sheila's idea about the CSA though. If nothing truly gets started by the end of next month, maybe I should just do that. Thanks Sheila!
Well, when are your slave laborers...I MEAN friends and relatives coming to visit?
Can you forgo baby shower gifts in lieu of them coming to visit to can tomatoes, harvest crops, hill potatoes and pull weeds?
I know you can't go without a garden, but maybe plant about 1/4 of what you would normally (or 1/8 even) and cover crop the rest.
Finny just reminded me ... seconded on Chiot's recommendation to do the potatoes under straw instead of hilling them. My father-in-law has been doing that for a couple of years. Much easier.
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