Gardening Goals

Canning goals this year:

• make jellies and jams for Christmas
• can all of those crazy-growing tomatoes
• have patience enough to grow potatoes and can them
• get green beans from the farm stand (they never make them past my garden gate) and can them

Growing:

I have already started to prep the land and I hope to clear my beds and plant cool-weather veggies soon.

I started with a cheap cold frame...a.k.a. free windows and I think I will place sugar-snap peas in there to get them started a couple of weeks early.  That is another item that never seems to make it past my garden gate....

• cantaloupe:  I haven't had success with this yet but it doesn't mean that I stop trying! I tried in my small first garden, nothing.  I tried in my large garden but I think it got smothered.  I am thinking maybe, believe it or not, in a planter, on the deck, trailing over the side.
• carrots: Had success the first year, 2009 but was too impatient to let them grow to their full potential.  I hope to hold the patience enough to allow them to grow to their full potential and enjoy!
• corn: I have the Cornell guide as to what veggies work best 'round here and I would love to grow the same kind that is sold at farm stands- yummy!  We could enjoy the corn and I could enjoy the decoration benefit when it comes to my harvest party.
• cucumbers:  I wish to make pickles this year!  And so....I need to grow the appropriate cucumbers to do so.  Ok, so regular cucumbers, I am diggin the English cucumbers too, and curbies.
• eggplant: black beauty.  Last year's garden suffered from some strange rain rot at the bottom but if you cut that off they were still good.  I hope for just a normal grownig season this year.
• garlic:  I did this in planters and Harley dug it out and ate them. I grew them in the garden and once again, I didn't want to leave it in too long or too short so I gained mixed results. I hope to get it exactly as I wish this year.
• iceberg lettuce:  I remember my father growing iceberg and I would just sit there and want to eat it like an apple.  It is so dang sweet straight out of the garden.  I have seen many who put a squash on a trellis to shade the lettuce but when my garden gets going.... it seems to go crazy so I am not too sure about that. Step 1: grow iceberg.  Step 2: decide where. 
• kale: I am loving on kale chips so I must grow kale!
• onions: I like to cook with the scapes and it is just plain cool.
• peppers:  Perhaps in planters;  I have not had much luck with peppers for the past three years.  The only year that I had a good growing season with them was the first year with the house.
• pumpkin: Success has been met with the little gourds but not full-grown pumpkins yet.  I will grow the little sweet ones again and try yet another location for the larger ones.  Perhaps the other side of the yard...
• string beans, string beans, string beans: Anywhere and everywhere that I can stick 'em!
• sugar-snap peas: Same as string beans.
• sweet 100s:  I slow roasted them in the oven last year and canned them with olive oil and basil.  This year I would take the skins off but the idea rocked!  The small jars are great for adding kick to plain veggies.  Once of my friends loved to use the combo as a spread for crackers.  I love having a purpose for these little jewels as they come in like crazy and I am often hard pressed to give them away fast enough.  Now, I can give and preserve!
• tomatoes....Since I plan on canning them...I may actually use them this year because I do use them in cooking.
• zucchini: I am considering only buying zucchini from farm stands or gaining from my father this year.  Not quite sure yet...I don't give in easy but last year was not a good year for it in my space. The leaves all had white spots and when zucchini did grow, it was half rotted.

Projects:

• composter: I am considering getting one of those spinning compost deals.  Why? 1: because it spins. 2: because then I can compost kitchen scraps without worry of my animals or wild animals getting into it.  It would be cool to reduce waste and have soil to boot.  For now? Contractor bags and a corner in the yard.
• cold-frame: Collect more free windows to create a cold frame for one raised bed.  I will never grow more cold stuff that one frame would hold so that would work well.
• arbor: I would like to construct an arbor out of lattice and stuff.  Perhaps for squash items, perhaps for morning glory....any which way.

Those are my thoughts for now....

Oh and I hope to go all organic with my veggies!