Morning Coffee and Thoughts of Spring

I had a quiet house this morning and a few minutes to sit alone and think while enjoying the first cup of coffee for the day. The main thought on my mind is this years garden. We have officially outgrown our current garden space and need to come up with a solution for how and where to plant all the wonderful things we have in mind. I approached my husband last night and let him know that it was time to start planning and as soon as opened my mouth he said, "I know and we are out of room". I told him I was thinking that we should add another large area to our garden and my wonderful husband said, "Sure, whatever you think is best. Come up with an idea and let me know what you need done". Yay free rein to what ever my mind can come up with. Unfortunately I am stumped. I want to try to keep some open space for the kids to play and I need space for all the flowers and shrubs that are planted to attract the bees. I have been researching permaculture principles and I am trying to incorporate these ideas within the yard. In other words I have a lot of ideas and very little space in my suburban backyard so now I am going to have to step out of my comfort zone and get creative.

While drinking my coffee I thought about where we could do the expansion and I think I have a few ideas. I have also been looking back at my garden journal to remind myself of the things that did not work out last year. The journal also helps me to plan the rotation for this year. I like to try to use companion planting so that there is less work form me to do protecting plants from insects. It also helps to know which plants compete against each other so that I don't set myself up for a season of struggling against nature. The process of setting up plans based on companion planting and using a three year rotation is kind of like making a seating chart for a wedding. Corn does not like tomatoes so don't put them too close while pole beans and corn literally embrace each other. Marigolds protect tomatoes and many other vegetables including pumpkins and potatoes. Just when you think you have everything all figured out you realize that one vegetable is still to close to another due to sheer size. I always have this problem with zucchini, my first instinct is to plant them close to each other forgetting how much space each plant needs. Zucchini plants get huge here about two feet in diameter so I have to keep that in mind. Thankfully I do a lot of my planning on paper because it is certainly easier to erase a plant on paper than to dig it up and move it later on.

Are you planning your gardens yet? Please let me know any new things that you are thinking of trying or things that you have tried before that have worked wonderfully as I need all the ideas I can get.

For the next couple of weeks I will be telling you more about each member of my family every Monday. Last Monday I introduced the family dog.

On Wednesdays I will be sharing what I am learning. It might be a new skill, recipe, home decorating idea, or family moment. I LOVE learning and am excited to share.

Friday will be a photo day that shows an inside look into what happened over the week.


Shared on The Homestead Barn Hop