3 tips to get your gardening on.

Phil did not see his shadow a couple of days ago and that means Spring is on the way. For green thumbs everywhere the excitement can begin. It might seem a little forward thinking given the insane amount of snow and cold across the country but this weather will pass and if you haven't been thinking green for a couple of weeks now you'll be behind the game when this mess thaws. I'm including some tips to get ready now for the impending planting season.

Get ready...get set...seed.

Image via WikipediaThere are many hardy plants that you can start in seed today and plant as soon as you can chip away the ice (ok so if there's ice don't plant...but if the soil can be dug...plant). Believe it or not that day is closer than you think. Some things to start from seed right now are broccoli, cauliflower, swiss chard, cabbage, eggplant, lettuce, onions(from seed not bulb or start), parsley, peppers, spinach (watch for hard frosts), tomatoes (seed only) and dozens of other hardy plants. Now it's important to understand that this is just starting seeds and not actually planting in your garden.

Planning makes everything easier

If you do row gardening or (my preference) Squarefoot Gardening, planning is very important. Know where, when, and how your precious seedlings will be planted. Stagger your harvest by planting at different times. Determine the space needed for your garden. When will you be able to harvest some of your garden and replant? Plan this all out while you're stuck in the house with ten foot drifts of snow at your door and you'll be that much better off when you're donning your short sleeve shirts and gardening gloves.

Infrastructure saves you from insanity

Part of planning is getting the actual space ready. This means building or developing some infrastructure. If you haven't got Squarefoot Gardens you might check out my review of "All New Squarefoot Gardening" and then go out and get some supplies. Building a garden is more than tilling up some ground in your back yard (at least it should be). If you have got a Squarefoot Garden then you are way ahead of the game. If you didn't cover and clean at the end of last season you'll need to go out and remove all the leaves and debris from your garden and you'll likely need to turn the soil a little. If you plan on growing up in your garden make sure you've got the proper trusses. If you're just starting get the book from the link above and get out before the rest of the folks out there.

Have fun.

Gardening is a family thing. If you haven't got family invite neighbor kids over to help. If you decide to do row gardening you've decided to do more work and that's fine because half the fun is spending time in the fresh air. If you've got time and a camera start a gardening blog that documents the growth of your plants. Just do something that turns your garden into more than another food source or weekend work. Finally, push winter out of your life and start thinking spring because there is a green tomorrow under all of the white today.

Gardening became a passion the day I learned about this.

I'm not the most "green" of people.  Those of you who know my political side would say that's an understatement.  This post may confuse people that know me for my political leanings but I assure you that I am not joining Al Gore's Cult.  I am, however, very, very excited about things that grow.  In another life I may have been a farmer but only if it was as easy as it is now, under the tutelage of Mel.
Last year before Spring I went to a wonderful meeting where the Square Foot Gardening concept was introduced.  In this meeting they had some examples of gardens and dirt...yup, dirt.  I was a somewhat reluctant student because I honestly felt like the whole premise behind Square Foot Gardening was a bit too good to be true.  After listening in an uncomfortable chair for a couple of hours and caring for my newborn enjoying the growth of new life I think something inside me changed a little bit.  I have been an advocate of gardens ever since we bought our house.  We've had gardens for most of the five years since we moved into the house with varied success and effort.  After building our first square foot garden last spring we will never do gardening another way.  We planted corn, sweet peas, cucumbers, beets, onions, peppers, pumpkin, carrots, flowers (mixed including sunflowers) and tomatoes all from seed right in the Mel's Mix.  We harvested as well as we ever did with a row garden but we didn't have to worry about weeds.  We found that cucumbers were fine as long as we gave them a head start on other plants that might shade them.  We found that pumpkins grow vines that overrun an entire garden.  We learned a lot about gardening last year.  This year we started things earlier and we're trying more.  I hope to get more harvested this year than last year which should be easy because we know more about rotating, and plant times.  Check the garden pics below to see how we're doing so far.