GARDENING IN A COLD CLIMATE

         November 5: Today is the first really cold day of winter. Some snow had fallen; it was a heavy, wet snow. But up until now, we have been experiencing usually warm temperatures for the season. If I had known; I could have left some of my garden to continue growing

           October 21:  I finally got the garden all cleared of any remaining plants. I harvested the last of my Yukon Gold potatoes. Even with eating fresh potatoes during the season, I’ll have harvested enough to last at least until Christmas. Thank goodness I had no problems with any sort of potato bug, like last year. I did receive a lot of helpful information from my neighbor, Agnes. I also managed to pull the last of the carrots, some of which I will freeze. I got a great crop this year. I must say it is a good feeling to be able to go out to my garden and pick vegetables for dinner. Fresh from the garden, Um! Um!  The peas are definitely done, but they were also a good crop. I also donate a few veggies to a close neighbor who has a large family to feed.

           October 20: Right now, I could start with winterizing the areas where I pulled the potatoes and carrots, but I think I will wait until I finish harvesting the rest of my pole beans. They tasted especially good this year. I tried a different brand.

           October 19: With the last of my cucumbers I will make pickles after giving a few to my elderly neighbors. They aren’t able to do much gardening anymore; bending was a problem, so their son made them raised plots. My neighbor has given me a lot of gardening tips over the years. 

           October 16: I finished picking the rest of my pole beans, and took the poles out of the ground. I am grateful that my neighbor suggested to plant pole beans, since they take up less space and I could have more room to plant more of another vegetable. The biggest area to clear will be the zucchini and squash plants. My husband made a wonderful zucchini relish last year, so I planted one extra row, so he would more to make his relish and we can still have some to eat. This was we will have a great store of zucchini relish. We may even give some away as Christmas gifts.

           October 15: It has been quite warm these past two weeks, so I will leave the last of the tomatoes on the vine to ripen.   We always seem to plant more tomato plants than we can eat, so as not to feel we are wasting some, we will be having fried green tomatoes more often, and my husband will put some into his zucchini relish. 

           October 1: We are still enjoying some cucumbers. The weather has been wonderful this year, with just enough rain and plenty of sunshine. I will be able to clear that area soon.

           Sept and Aug: We have been enjoying having fresh vegetables for dinner for weeks. The tomatoes are reddening, but we can still have fried green tomatoes at times.

           July: Constantly weeding and thinning of rows. Once most plants have sprouted, it rained non-stop for a full day. I was worried that my young plants may drown. But, thankfully, they had developed a strong hold. With the coming sunshine the next few days, my plants seemed to grow twice the size they were before the rain. It sure was mucky; I had to get out my rain boots.

           June (late):  Some plants have sprouted, what a great feeling, seeing the first sprouts that have pushed out of the ground. I almost felt like shouting, I planted these and now look. And in a few weeks or even months, I will be eating these. Did a second sowing of: beets, and carrots.

My plan of what I intend to plant in my garden and where:

I need to make sure those seeds that need more sun than others are put in the proper place. Some plants need full sun (at least 6 hours,) while others can grow and produce on anywhere from 3 to 6 hours of sunshine. For the cucumbers, zucchini and squash, because they spread, I will face them one way and put up a sort of barrier to ensure they don’t spread all over the whole garden, therefore smothering other plants.

1.     2 rows of Yukon Gold potatoes will go along the west side.

2.     Lincoln Homesteader four feet of peas along the north side leaning on the dividing fence.

3.     Nantes Touchon carrot. 2 four foot rows in front of the peas.

4.     Tasty Green Straight Neck cucumbers. Coming from the west, facing east.      

5.     Dark Green Zucchini. 1 row planted early. Another row. Going west to east, on the opposite end of the garden, away from the cucumbers.

6.     Winter squash. Also going west to east, like the zucchini.

7.     Scarlet Runner Pole beans. Northeast corner. 2 teepee sets of poles.

8.      Detroit Dark Red beets. 3 short rows center.

9.      Beefsteak and Cherry tomatoes. 2 planters along the south of the garage.

10.   Lettuce. I’ll plant just enough for two plants. Once we cut some for salads, it continues to grow.

           May 20: I got the roto-tilling done and even managed to get the compost spread. I then leveled the ground and marked my rows. I planted an early row of zucchini, so my husband can make his delicious relish.

           May 15: I wanted to make sure there was no garden debris left over from last year or anything that might interfere when I started roto-tilling. There is always unseen bits and pieces to clear.

           April 26: Again, all the snow has finally melted. I just need to wait until the ground has thawed and is dry enough for me to get in there to work. The high temperatures and the warm sun have done a great job doing just that.

           April 11: After the snow melted from the when it snowed March 26, I thought this was it. But, no, winter made another attempt to remain. I had forgotten that it always snowed around this time of year.

           March 26: It really snowed hard these past two days. I thought that meant that winter would be hanging around for a bit longer.

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