Thursday, January 07, 2010

Garden plans?

So I know at least a few of us like to grow our own stuff and I thought it would be fun to start a dialogue about it now, since I am always behind on getting ready for planting and I am determined to be on schedule this year. Plus, being susceptible to the Winter doldrums, I'm hoping to liven up my mood with thoughts of Spring. We're hoping our garden will supplement our share from the CSA we plan to join and also give us a bit more stuff to put away for the winter. I'm probably behind the curve on this one, but last year was our first year doing our own tomatoes, and every time I bite into a store-bought tomato, now, I'm disappointed...and usually a little grossed out. I've been rather lazy about my produce-buying because we haven't had a reasonably close farmer's market...until now! A new one is opening next week, here. Apparently, opening one up in the middle of the winter is not as crazy as it sounds.

Since our backyard is almost totally concrete, we've been planting in containers. I've decided to upgrade us a little, this year, and build some long beds out of cinderblocks! We are also going to try to start from seeds.

The plan for this year is to plant the following: two varieties of tomatoes (to heirloom or not to heirloom, that is the question), zucchini, japanese eggplant (had a plant last year and it was awesome), string beans, basil, rosemary, oregano, sage, parsley, and cilantro. Our local urban farm just got chickens so I inquired about them. Apparently, they are legal in alot of cities (including Philly)! Unfortunately, our yard is just too small for a coop. Maybe some day. They did refer me to this site, which was pretty cool, in case you are curious: Urban Chickens.

So what are your plans for when the weather starts to turn?

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