Spring into Garden Season
It’s almost time to plant the garden! Can you smell it in the air? If you used the fertilizer we did, you would definitely be smelling us springing into this garden season. Get yourself garden ready with my recommendations for the top garden tools. Find the printable list in the free resource library. It’s time to spring into this garden season with me!
Technically we have already started a few plants that aren’t affected by the cooler temps, but the big garden waits until April 15th or so. After that date the threat of frost is low, but it’s hard to wait with this warm weather! Clearly, I’m talking Upstate SC temps here. I’ll never forget the blizzard that surprised us in Michigan on April 24th!
The chickens are earning their keep with their daily egg donation and by preparing the lower garden for us. Their chicken tractor took a fieldtrip so their former home could recover and they could fertilize the garden directly. Thanks Ladies! Keep enjoying those bugs
We have started the seeds that I ordered from the Vegetable Seed Warehouse mail-order seed delivery and they are off to a great start on my dining room table. I will start the hardening process soon and transplant them into the ground.
It will be nice to get our dining room table back. It will also be nice to get that greenhouse in motion so we do not need to sacrifice our dining room table and screened-in deck next year.
I read a quote the other day that said, “There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments.” And I can relate to this because I have had an ongoing experiment in my dining room and deck for the past several months.
We usually plant most of our seeds directly in the garden and buy a select few transplants from local suppliers. This year I tried something new, and so far my experiment is going great. There were only a couple of seeds that didn’t make it, and that was probably a case of overwatering. Remember I am not the best with indoor plants.
The sweet potato slips are flourishing! I tried two different methods of growing slips and they were both a success and continue to sprout new slips every day. To read more about my process check out the farm to fork sweet potato page.
And finally, the pots that were surrounding the entire deck, that we had to keep my niece from playing in during her visit, are showing signs of life! Hurrah! Now what we will do with that many chestnut trees I do wonder.
Many of our experiments turn out great and that’s where my site was born. I’m trying to pass along some of our learned knowledge so someone that is just getting started can avoid the experimental stages and go directly to what works, and also let people know it’s not that hard! If I can do it, you all can do it.
In preparation for the new season of gardening, I have gathered my favorite tools to help me have a successful season. If you too are getting ready to start your garden and want to check them out I made a convenient printable that’s in my resource library.
If you’re new to gardening I have compiled beginner resources in Gardening 101 that has some basic advice for getting started, and beyond that, all kinds of specific crop advice & recipes from Farm to Fork.
I have a little PSA for those of you with blueberry bushes and fruit trees…now is the time to spread fertilizer on your blueberries and spray your fruit trees. We use Down to Earth All Natural Acid Mix Fertilizer for the blueberries and Bonide Fruit Tree Spray on the fruit trees.
I sincerely hope that helps someone from learning the hard way. We learned last year that fruit trees need to be sprayed when they start to bloom in early spring. This protects the tree and fruit from many insects and the fruit from different diseases that will prematurely rot the fruit.
Last year my father-in-law wasn’t able to spray his fruit trees, and we didn’t know it was necessary, so we had peaches that were threatening to prematurely rot on the tree. We had an emergency mass picking and jam session.
We were able to salvage many of the peaches, but have you ever tried to cut into an underripe peach? It wasn’t a pleasant task, in fact, I refused to do it, but my husband chopped the peaches and painstakingly separated the good from the bad and now we have lots of peach jam.
So are you starting any garden experiments this spring? One nice thing about all the time we had at home last year is many people took the leap to backyard gardening, or expanded upon their small gardens.
I don’t know about you but when I dive into something new I tend to look at what I need and then research and gather all the tools. Like when I was pregnant for the first time and Babies R Us told me I needed a wipes warmer, a bottle sanitizer, changing table, and a diaper genie. You quickly learn that many new baby items are completely unnecessary to actually taking care of a new baby. Most of them are a waste of money and space.
That’s why I put together a list of my top garden tools to help the newbie get the needed gardening essentials. If you are getting started gardening, or want to be more prepared this season, check out the printable in my free resource library for my favorite garden tools to get your gardening on. Hope you enjoy!
For more about the farm poke around the site or check out these past blog posts:
