Well, I can say “thank goodness” that February is behind us. It is the shortest month of the year but somehow it sure seemed a long one. I don’t think I have ever worn my longjohns for such a stretch of time!!
But hope springs eternal as I get busy with my spring plans. Most of my seeds are ordered and some have arrived. Tomorrow, I am going to sow a few early ones: rhodichiton (purple bells) take such a long time to grow that it is now time to start them. Also sage, lavender and rosemary seem to take forever to pop out of the soil and become a sizeable plant.
I order most of my seeds from Hope Seeds (I have these seeds for sale in the shop); or William Dam. (I like the fact that they are:
- Canadian;
- old;
- non-GMO and not chemically treated; and
- pretty reasonably priced.
I also buy from Halifax Seed, a little bit from Vesey’s and of course I get my tomato seed from a place in Ontario called Upper Canada Seeds . This year they have over 300 varieties and I only have room for about 30. What a task to hold myself back – I want them all!!!
It’s also time to make the plan for the garden. I was pretty good last year and took very careful notes of where what was planted.
A good garden planning tool available on line here. So this year, I will do a good rotation to help keep the beds productive. I can never remember what follows what in a garden plan so I alwayshave to refresh my memory during planning time.
Here is a simple visual of a 4-year rotational schedule:
I hope to have all my planning done by the end of March so that I will be ready when Mother Nature says “go!”. Have you seen all the ideas for pallet gardening? They get more beautiful all the time – inexpensive, creative gardening.
Here are a few examples: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/166773992425782518/ and https://www.pinterest.com/pin/352054895843632732/. So many great ideas.
Well, back to the planning. Can’t wait until it’s time again to “dig in the dirt!!”