So what is everyones garden plot prep plans for next season?

this is definitely the best part of gardening – the dreaming, planning, envisioning.

I have plans.. lots of plans! Now, all I have to do is get it all done and maintain it! OH MAINTAIN IT!!! Doh

I’m glad to see that you are feeling better this year and getting your sails fluttering again.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan

My condolances to you for the loss of your Dad. truly sorry.

Someone said that the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their own dreams…......so I dream away.

I am so disappointed in my garden, it really looks like soil but in actual fact, its dark sand…...sigh!!!. On the good side, beets thrive, as does asparagus. Peas do pretty good and so does swiss chard but beans, squash, melon, carrots…..............suck. So the great big garden expansion will be seeded with grass and the garden cut back to grow what excells and the rest is going into raised beds and containers. I planted another row of asparagus from seed so I hope to dig them out and put them in containers untilthey get a tad bigger (six years before you harvest asparagus)

Depending on what you feed your chickens being mash or crushed seed. My FIL puts the pigeon and chicken waste into the garden and it drives me NUTS cause the barley and other seed germinate and the growth from such becomes a bed of Green Kevlar choking out everything in its path…....just a word of caution.

I started tomato seeds, eggplant seeds, and a dozen assorted herb seeds, and a few trays of flowers….......nothinghas come up yet but I keep my fingers crossed.

-- Central northish Ontario

Sorry to hear about the loss of your dad, Scott. I know the feeling of suddenly not having a father extending his guiding hand.

You have good plans for the next gardening season.

Here, I would really like to:
1) lower the work load in the garden. I am getting tooooo old for all the heavy lifting that is required with maintaining my brugmansia crop. Maybe I’ll give a lot of them away.
2) reduce the amount of dahlias that I plant;
3) contemplating putting a rose hedge around the outdoor fireplace. That would substantially reduce the amount of watering that I have to do.
4) dig up the lower bed and replant. The sweet woodruff is going crazy so I’ll be composting a lot of it.
5) relay the front paving stones, as the water is pooling there because of some sinkage. That way I may save on a potential law suit if someone falls.
6) winter sow more annuals to put into the pots vacated by the previous labour intensive brugs.

I am sure that I’ll think of more later. Gardening is an ever changing venture.

-- jroot

Sorry for the loss of your father, Scott. I miss my father and think of him when my sons and I explore the rocks and fungi around us or when I see bees because rock-hounding, mycology and beekeeping were some of his favorite hobbies.

I am going to try to start shifting from growing annual vegetables to perennial vegetables. I want to focus on building permanent plant guilds around my fruit and nut trees rather than expanding my conventional vegetable garden. I am hoping that the plant guilds will significantly reduce the amount of work I do by having the plants do more of the work. : ) I will keep the annual vegetables that do well and we enjoy but I am going to try to tuck some of them into various guilds and see how they fit.

My sons have grand plans to grow more popcorn and serendipitously we also have some flint corn seeds to plant – where am I going to put those?!?

I ordered several new fruit-bearing bushes including: aronia, elderberry, honeyberry and goumi, so I will be busy digging holes. I want to try out some of the new ideas I researched over the winter, such as hugelkultur and creating guilds.

If I can, I want to add more mulch to my living fence area to see if I can speed up its growth. I ordered several new bushes to expand that area as well and I am going to put some of the volunteer Sea Buckthorn bushes into the living fence because they fix nitrogen in the soil and will turn the living fence garden into a guild.

I hope I have not over planned this year. If I disappear from on-line in the spring, it is because I will be very busy in the gardens!

-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi

Scott, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your father. We have missed your contibutions to our postings. Have wondered about those chickens and your little boy? Good to see you again.

Winter is really a period of rest from the garden for me…..until seed-starting around Easter. I have planned some winter-sowing…..which I guess I should get going on. I have always used winter to catch up on books that I want to read, and to bring myself up to date on gardening news.

This morning, I have spent alot of time studying the nursery catalogs that I’ve rec’d since Dec. I write an order, and revise it. then try not to send it. :-) Mostly I dream….............I really have little room for more of anything. But I’ll probably cave-in bf spring gets here and send for something!

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

I share your sorrow for the loss of your father Time only will be the best healer.
Your plans for the next season look very promissing and I am sure you will harvest a good crop from your garden. Best of luck to fulfil your plans.
Robin pl don’t be so busy to disappear on line. We have to keep GT alive!
Sharad

-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein

No worries, Sharad, I still have to come in the house when it gets too dark to work outside. Who needs sleep? ; )

-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi

Oh Scott my heart goes out to you on the loss of your father …

Reading and enjoying all the wonderful and ambitious plans for next year’s gardens … me … well I find myself in limbo as far as this coming summer goes. I am hoping we have a “For Sale” sign (Arizona here we come???!!!) in our front yard so with that in mind, how much do I really add to my yard. I so enjoy being outside and tending to all my flowers and pots. Sooooo my thought is to just maintain my front bed and front row/bed of Stella d’ Oro’s; replant the containers that I already have with annuals in my “side of the house- gravel” area and same for the back patio area. I want to be able to take all my containers with me, IF the house were to sell over the summer. Soooooooo ….. I think lots of annuals for me this summer … and alright … Maybe another cool container or two … LOL!!! You know me and my containers … hahaha!!!

OHHHHHH, and I did bring from over from our other house the HUGE wooden barrel that my husband’s grandfather used to pack his clothes in on his sea voyage from Poland to the States … you can still see hints of blue and green on it … so I will plant that up as well and place it in a very special place come summer.

-- "A beautiful garden is a work of heart" -- Royal Oak, MI - Zone 5

Thanks for the condolences.. I had not realized how much it’d really affected me until I just looked back when I first posted it. It’ll be two years this coming summer.. And it still hurts.

Anyway.. Back on a brighter note.. Or at least if I can work in the time to do it.. I’ve GOT to get the flower beds handled and mulched again.. The evil grass we have in spots spreads above ground, below ground and through the sky.. So it’s easily slipped its way into the beds. I’m just not sure how to handle it right now.

Been thinking of getting a flame thrower.. No joke.. One of the torch wands to wilt the plant matter? Would work well to keep the weeds away from the bed from inside the dog run, so long as I don’t set it on fire.

Greenthumb, chicken feed won’t be an issue.. They get the pellets, which is basically just crumbles compressed together. No viable seed in them.. Every day they also get the leftovers from supper that they can have. No salty, spicy, sugary, etc.

jroot, going to give up on the brugmansias? That would be dissapionting.. I love looking at what you do with them.. Can understand cutting back though.

Maybe you need a good dolly to aid in moving things around, eh?

Radicalfarmergal, I’ve got Aronia (choke berry) and LOVE it.. But it tastes like crap eaten out of hand for sure.. Makes a really great jelly though! It does so well here I’m considering doing it as a hedge row instead of blueberries, which have been a failure to me. But I want to see how the Goosberries and Elderberry grows this season, just incase I want to mix those in.

Gram, hope that sign does go up.. And if it’s the case, you’ll need to concentrate on what you have for resale value for sure.. Make sure it’s all plump and pretty.. :) Got plans to take some starts of the Stella with you when you go?

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

GramT—the wooden barrel—oh what a treasure!
My grandfather was a “home child” (brought over from England when he was a young lad). I have his trunk. Oh the memories .

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan

So nice to see you back Scott.I’m so sorry for the loss of your dad.
This year I plan on growing lots of tomatoes and a few other veggies as well as my flowers.Just finding a place for them will be the test.(lol)But there is always room for just one more plant.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

GramT,long time no see!!!
Speaking of containers,I think I will be adding more this year,but I really want to try new things in them.I am thinking maybe a few small trees of some sort,and add some perennials.I will get a trumpet vine for sure for my wooden planter with built in trellis.Oh the dreaming starts now.LOL
I also bought some wire framed deer at Christmas,in which the lights screwed up on one so I took off all the lights and will train my Ivy to cover this.Might take a few years to completely cover,but I think it will look great.
Nice to see you and Scott back

-- Southwestern Ontario Canada Zone5b

Thanks Countrygal …

don’t know if I am gonna take anything with me to Arizona … May just start fresh. I know out there you cannot just “plunk” plants into containers nor into the ground if you expect them to survive the summer. There must be a underground drip system installed (even in pots) that waters from the ground up. The sun/heat just bakes the ground and it won’t absorb any real water … and water is precious out there.

Although I LOVED seeing Pansies blooming like crazy out there in the winter …. who says you cannot mix Pansies and Christmas decorations … hahaha!!!

I am learning lots from my “gardening” SIL who lives out there (as you all know – LOL!!). He has been learning lots from his failures … hahaha!!! Poor guy. But he is resilient and has some wonderful ideas for his garden this coming year. Truly a different world out there to garden in. But I am looking forward to the challenge; when the time comes … and those Sedums Scott … :-)

-- "A beautiful garden is a work of heart" -- Royal Oak, MI - Zone 5

Scott, I have to be careful about planting Gooseberries because they can act as a host for a disease that is very harmful to White Pines. Elderberries do very well here; I have several bushes growing wild and I am experimenting with several different kinds to grow larger, tastier berries. We make wine, so I am looking forward to a harvest large enough to make some Elderberry wine. Let me know how your hedge comes along.

-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi

GramT
This will certainly be a huge change from what your used to for sure.But with your talent you should not have too much trouble.Before long you will be saying,gee I could never grow these in Michigan.Pansies and Christmas decorations,I would love that!!!!Think of all the fun you will have starting over.

-- Southwestern Ontario Canada Zone5b

the best plants and seeds we ever plant are that of our own. Grandma T…........go find them …......Go find your own children and your grandchildren, plant a seed for them, teach them how to make their own heart grow…............

I know you can, and I know you will…...............

and then show some pics!!!, we all look forward to it.

-- Central northish Ontario

My plan is to develop as low-maintenance and as visually-appealing a smallish condomium townhouse garden in Victoria BC, Canada, as possible. It is almost complete, but I am experimenting with a few dwarf conifers which are a popular addition to gardens here owing to the mild winters and moist climate—although our main summer months can be very dry. We have a deer population in our suburb which wanders arounds eating things like hydrangeas, roses, tulips (not daffodils), so if you really love roses, as I do, you have to screen them off unless they are in a fenced patio. Azaleas and rhododendrons are popular here, with many varieties, and the deer tend to leave them alone. Heathers do well. I am fascinated by miniature groundcovers. So, I will be pursuing learning in the culture of these plants and interested in how others are doing with their versions of the same thing.

-- VictoriaBCresident

I have a garden calender and most of the phototgraphy…...........Victoria BC. Even the cover of the new LV Garden catalogue is from BC.

Stunning gardens

-- Central northish Ontario