One of my favorite things to talk about is gardening and farming, and I, like most introverts, am fairly quiet in a crowd unless the topic of conversation is something in which I am interested. Of course, farming and gardening are some of my interests, and I love to talk to people who visit the farm about gardening. Visitors are often amazed by this farm I have created (with help from family, friends, and employees), and seem to believe, somehow, that I just woke up one day and knew how to grow these flowers. I explain to them that I figured out how to farm after making all the mistakes with which they struggle in their own gardens.
As the New Year approaches, I thought I would look back at some of my previous gardening goals, and think about my goals for this year.
When I wrote the original post (keep reading and you will find it) back in 2012, I was a stay-at-home mom of two girls, ages 3 and 6, and I was homeschooling them. I was still in that difficult stage of parenting where a too-quiet house might mean that they are playing quietly with their toys, or it might mean they are painting the walls and each other. Gardening was accomplished during naps and quiet times and in the fleeting blissful moments when they would play outdoors while I worked before someone was bitten by fire ants or had to go to the potty.
My farming resolutions are different from gardening resolutions. I have actual plans, written down on paper, of goals and numbers to inform my seed orders and planting spaces. I must think about what others want from my farm and what I should grow that people want to buy. Gardening resolutions are much more fun and can be entirely unrealistic.
The garden was glorious, full of flowers and vegetables and, when the demands of children and a lack of a reasonable strategy to manage it overwhelmed me, full of weeds and overgrown plants. It was just like the gardens of many of the people who visit my farm. I learned (the hard way) what NOT to do to stay ahead of the weeds and manage the plants. Although it was only a garden, I learned a lot about farming in it. Read on below the photo for my plans for the garden in 2012.
“I have all the usual New Year’s Resolutions many people have, which I will not share here in case I do not achieve them, but I will share my plans for the garden. Gardening resolutions have to take the form of plans, not resolutions, because there are so many factors beyond the gardener’s control that may prevent their accomplishment, factors besides, “Well, that cake looked so tasty I just had to eat it.” Planning the garden in the winter is a wonderful occupation, because the hot days and hard work are a long way off. My plans are usually too ambitious, but I enjoy planning most when it includes some dreams.
This year, I have a large area that pine trees covered until we had them cut in September. I sowed it to rye grass and clover, and I will move the chickens onto the grass, let them eat the cover crop and fertilize the area. The trees grew in clay, and the soil will need some work before it is ready for my orchard. I plan to till in the cover crops the chickens leave behind to give the soil organic matter. I do not know when I will get the apple, pear, cherry, and peach trees planted, but I will work towards the eventual orchard this year. An orchard is an investment in time and money, and I want to make sure the soil is ready, and I
want to make sure I choose the best varieties of trees for my area.
I have read about grafting non-disease resistant heirloom tomatoes onto disease-resistant rootstock. For example, I could graft San Marzano tomatoes, which I want to grow to make sauce out of, but which die quickly in the garden, onto the lower stem and roots of the Celebrity tomato, which resists disease, and get the disease resistance of the Celebrity and the fruit of the San Marzano. I saw grafted plants for sale in a gardening magazine for $7 each, and they will become expensive if I buy many. I will spend the winter reading about grafting tomatoes, and will experiment with them. I did achieve one of my perennial gardening
goals last summer: I grew enough tomatoes to can to last me through the winter. Every year is different, though, so I am always looking for ways to outsmart pests and disease.
I want to grow enough Irish potatoes, onions, garlic, and sweet potatoes so I do not have to buy any. The onions and garlic are in the ground now, and I will have to plant the Irish potatoes later this winter, and the sweet potatoes in the spring. I have grown more than enough garlic for us for several years, and I will keep trying to accomplish the other goals.
What are your gardening plans? If you have never gardened, it is a great time to begin one. Do all the heavy digging and soil preparation now, when it is cold, and when warm weather comes you can leisurely plant your garden. And, working in the garden will complement your resolutions to lose weight and
exercise more, while you’re having more fun than you would on a treadmill at the gym. Next time I’ll write about my favorite seed catalogs and plant resources, and you can order some catalogs or look at some websites and plan your garden this winter. January 18, 2012″
What did I accomplish? I started planting the orchard, but the deer ate it. I never did try grafting tomato plants, because I researched the idea more and discovered it was nearly impossible for a home gardener. I can grow plenty of onions, garlic, and Irish potatoes, but I learned that in the South, we can’t grow storage onions because they need long days in the summer to mature. I grew enough garlic to last us the year several times. I can grow enough Irish potatoes to last through most of the summer. Growing enough sweet potatoes to last the year is also something I can accomplish. I can also grow and can enough tomatoes to last the year (except when I grow too many flowers and don’t have enough time to can tomatoes because I am too busy selling flowers).
The most important thing I did was continue reading, studying, learning, and trying. I have killed thousands of plants. I have crop failures every season. It’s normal. So if you want to garden (or farm) put some seeds into the ground and start a garden.
My farming resolutions for 2024 are to simplify. I will grow fewer different kinds of flowers, but I will master succession planting so that I can have a continuous supply instead of a cycle of too many flowers and not enough flowers. Figuring out succession planting has been one of the most challenging aspects of learning to farm, but it is one of the most critical skills to master.
What are your plans? Let me know in the comments.