It is one day into the new year and about 2 months since I graduated from Master Gardening School. Technically, I am currently a Master Gardener Intern and will not be certified until I complete a research project and volunteer hours. Graduation vs. certification is a discussion for another time.
Most of us, when we talk about gardening, we talk about things that are happening in the actual dirt of your actual garden, but time spent out of the dirt is equally important. More on the specifics of that in a moment - stay with me here.
My day job is in a restaurant, and I recently was promoted into a management position, and one of the perks of my new role is that I receive a complimentary meal every time I work.
So yesterday and today I worked during the day and when my shift ended I ordered a dish I had been wanting to try and ate it at the bar with a glass of wine. This is not the cleanest eating habit, true. But these were two dishes I had been wanting to try for a while, and it felt like a real treat to enjoy something delicious and indulgent, especially after a VERY busy holiday season in the restaurant business and to toast myself on my promotion. So .. what can make delicious food taste even better?
I sat at the end of the bar by myself. Yesterday I had broiled Virginia trout with broccolini and olives with a glass of Albarino, and today it was roasted squab with new potatoes and candied carrots with a glass of Pinot Noir, and each time nothing had ever tasted so good. The dishes were each a complex of layered taste, and the wine complimented it beautifully. It was like a beautifully woven tapestry! And yes this does relate to our topic today of gardening out of the soil.
How can we garden "out of the dirt" and how can we garden in January?
One of the reasons my meal experiences were so transporting the past couple of days (other than the fact that our chef is amazing and the food is always *FANTASTIC*) was The Anticipation Factor. Having wanted to try the dishes for a while and finally having the opportunity. The sense of reward - a delicious meal not just to feed my body today but also as indicative of having earned this new position. Wanting something for a while, thinking about it, fantasizing even, planning for it, working for it, and then HAVING IT.
Do you see where I'm going? The number one way you can be gardening at this time of the year is to be planning the garden you will plant this spring. What will you grow? How will your plot of land take shape? Where will your various plants find their homes?
If you're not sure where to start, I encourage you to organize the seeds that you have on hand. What do you have, what do you need, are they being stored correctly (somewhere cool, dry, and dark)? If you don't have seeds or need more, where will you buy them from? This is the time to start researching vendors, prices, varietals, etc.
Do you garden with others? Maybe your family members garden with you, or you have friends/neighbors in your community garden plot, or a garden club (formal or not)? This is also a great time ]to meet with those people (formally or not) to talk about their needs and plans for gardening this season. Before you get your heart and mind set on something that may not work for your teammates, get their input. It's also a good time to share thoughts with each other about what worked or didn't last season and why, to give and take advice and input.
A third consideration for your garden planning is possibly rotating your "crops" or plants. Different plants deplete the soil in different ways, which means that growing the same thing in the same place year after year will eventually lead to that plant being less and less vigorous each growing season. You can keep your soil healthy and your plants lush and vibrant by moving them around into different places each year, making rotation another really important part of the planning process.
Speaking of soil, when was the last time you had yours tested? It's a great idea to test each year, especially if your'e planning to plant something you haven't grown before, but if it's been more than three years (or never!) since you had it tested - it's definitely time. Unfamiliar with soil testing? Your local Master Gardeners can help! Google "master gardeners" and your state name, and you should quickly find a link to at least one chapter in your area, and the fine and friendly folks who respond to that email or answer that phone should be able to help (for free!). We definitely recommend the mail-in kits (as opposed to something you would buy somewhere like Lowe's and then try to do at home) - they get sent to a professional testing lab, typically at a university with an agriculture program in your state and the results are emailed to you, for a fee of usually between $10 and $20. The instructions are clear, and you don't need to send in very much soil to get accurate results. Plus Master Gardeners are available to answer any questions you have about the process! (And, no, we have no financial interest in soil tests- they are just the most reliable :)) What can you do with the results? The report will include very specific information on what fertilizers and other amendments YOUR soil needs. January is a great time to do this (provided your soil is not frozen!), so you can factor these needs into your planning. Your soil is the single most important determinant of the success of your garden, and it is not all the same, so get it right!!! Feel free to reach out if you need more info about soil testing.
Finally - start sketching out your garden. Once you've taken stock of what seeds you have on hand, what you want to grow this year, where you're going to grow it, what fertilizers and amendments you will need to make that happen (and whether that information changes your plans in any way), and the input of the other people involved, sit down with a piece of paper and pencil and start to draw it out. This can be as detailed oriented and to scale as you like (graph paper and a ruler, ideally an architect's scale, will be needed, as well as precise information about your piece of land), or as casual as a freehand drawing on a piece of notebook paper. Whatever works for you. And you can always tighten or loosen the drawing up as planting time approaches. However you decide to approach the project, put pencil (it's erasable!) to paper and start to plan and dream about what will be where at the height of growing season.
Other Gardening Activities This Week
This definitely doesn't sound very "garden-y", but today and tomorrow are also great days to bake. You can make something complex from scratch or put something together from chilled dough or a boxed mix. It doesn't matter. We are in a time of year for staying inside, keeping warm, nesting. What goes better with that mood than something freshly baked?:) How is this possibly related to gardening? When we garden, we work with mother nature, we flow with the seasons. Don't fight the season - flow with it. Bake something today or tomorrow and dream about your garden while you do.
Another activity for any day this week is cutting firewood. Want to be outside, want to be working with plants? If you have trees and branches that you felled in the fall, take some time over any (or all!) days over the next week, to cut and stack your firewood. Not a firewood cutting kind of gal or guy? What about going out to buy firewood or having some delivered this week? It's that time of year! If you have a fireplace, I definitely recommend having a fire pretty much every day this week. Doesn't matter if it's not "cold enough" out. Same points as above - it's the season we are in, go for it! Don't have a fireplace? I get it - me either right now, and it's a bummer. How about lighting a candle or two at home, especially one that is wood scented (pine, cedar, sandalwood, they even have ones scented to smell like campfire!)?
The Anticipation Factor
Settle in to January, folks. It's a time of year for nesting and planning. Invest in the planning now, and, come planting and growing season, enjoyment of your garden will be that much more delicious :)
No comments:
Post a Comment