Gardening 2011 - Day One

Gardening in the north starts in the house.  It has to.  There's no way I could wait until June to start playing in the dirt.  Step one.  Clean up the sunroom and the greenhouse shelves.  This is the mess that gathers over the winter, as pretty much everyone assumes the empty greenhouse shelves are just extra closet space, and mitt drying racks (they do work pretty good for that), and a place to stuff everything the puppies thought looked good enough to gnaw on.

That done, step two was sorting and organizing my seed stash, making a list for what needs to be bought, what brands and types I already have, and what I will focus on this year.

Step two is very important, since I bought all of these bean seeds the other day.  Evey store I went into.  Every brand.  Every type.  Plus five packets I had stored from last year.  Plus the loose seed from my plants last year.  Plus, I'm broke.  But they just started putting the seed displays out.  And I am like some kind of addict.  Seeds are my crack.  I drive my children crazy.  Reading packet after packet.  How long are we going to STAY here?  'Cause, you know, that's THE most boring section of the store.  And then the same thing in the next store.  And the next...

Did I need more bean seeds?  Well, yes, actually, I did.  But that has more to do with luck and planning than with my seed shopping habits.  After three years of crappy bean harvests, armed with my new greenhouse, and personal determination, this WILL be, THE YEAR OF THE BEAN.  The plan is to plant half a packet of each type in the garden, and half in the greenhouse.  To take CAREFUL notes, and keep track of which beans are which, and how well they each produce.  Beans should not require a greenhouse, so I'm hoping I'll find at least one type that will flourish in the garden.  But just in case, and because I might have to hurt someone otherwise, my greenhouse will serve it's first year as a green bean centre.  'Cause come hell or high water, there WILL be a freezer full of beans next winter.  And just for fun, some of those types that I have three or four packets of, along with the pole beans, will be planted in my 'forest garden'.  Just to see how well they do.

The point though- the reason for the seed surplus to sort through- is that I am a seed addict, and the stores have already got the seed displays out in February.  So I will look every time I go to town from now 'til next fall, and I'll pick up this and that along the way, and I'll have a seed surplus AGAIN.  Meanwhile, back at the farm, I will be out in the garden when I realize I still don't have ANY parsnips or brussel sprouts.

Everything sorted, counted, and listed in my garden journal, and a shopping list on the fridge door.

I am ready to begin.