Spring Gardening

There is sooo much to share with you!  Where do I begin this week?  God has a way of leading us if we will follow.  Since yesterday was such a beautiful day I am going with it!  We are going to talk about gardening this week.  We will just hit on a few things.  I mean if you are a gardener you know that learning is a life long journey.  And weeding is another life long journey.  I promise I will follow up through the summer.  I must, I love it so.

This year is going to be a new experiment for our family.  Are you like me?  I plant the same thing every year except for a few new specimens. I will try a few new things this year too but we are also trying no till gardening.  It is sorta like square foot gardening without the boxes.  My oldest is my gardener.  He loves it.  Give him a shovel and some hostas to divide or a garden to maintain and he is in heaven.  I like to think he gets it from me.  We both know and give credit to God.  I mean who else would I want him to get his desire from but the Master Gardener.

I started by watching a free video.  I will warn you that at times the guy quotes scripture but at other times seems far out there.  As my pastor says as many others do, "take the good stuff and spit out the seeds." Here is a link.  http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

This is an experiment.  I can not verify that what this guy says is true.  We have started the process none the less and I hope to share some great success's with you.  I am not a large scale farmer, though I secretly wish I was.  I am not a super woman, though I wish I was.  I am a woman who loves to be outside and provide good things for my family.  I have a husband and 3 young men who all work during the summer so I have what I can handle.  That's just the way it is.  Every year I hope to put up more food for the winter than the last.  Every year I make different plans based on how the last year goes.  We are planting more fruit bushes this year to help supplement our smoothie and crisp addiction.  We are also growing more green beans to help supplement the food our guys eat!

The first thing to do is look over last year's garden.  Did you use all the room you have to the full capacity?  What new things worked and what didn't?  For me I did kohlrabi for the first time because you can put it in very early, before the last frost.  I liked it a lot.  What didn't work for me again was Brussels Sprouts.  I have tried them every year.  If I try them again I will plant them in the fall and try to winter them.  I think they just really like the cold. 

I took a walk yesterday and looked at what was coming back.  Yarrow, sage, grapes, dill and to my surprise anise hyssop!  I wasn't sure with us being in Zone 5 that it would.  I guess our mild winter helped.  I have three very healthy plants coming back.  At first glance you might not think so and be tempted to pull it, but wait, look closer, see the green?!  Look past the weeds.

Clip back but not past the green.  Weed and stir up the first layer of dirt around it with a hoe.

Three plants in a row after cutting and weeding.

Anise Hyssop leaves can be added to a green salad adding an anise bite.  They can also be dried and made into a tea that helps digestion and helps soothe the lungs from coughing.  But if you don't get to using them they add a beautiful addition to a flower garden giving nectar to butterflies, bees and hummingbirds! I probably have some to spare so just ask.

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Tomorrow I will share a great website for garden planning and also my new favorite tool.