To-Do

My new obsession:



















Growing loofah. I've spent the whole morning reading up on it after coming across it a month or so ago in Llywellyn's Herbal Almanac. I've decided I want to plant two varieties for starters, and I'll use the chicken coop to grown them against -- atleast two sides of the coop. The girls should get SOME sun. Apparently they are fast growers of the pumpkin family, much like a squash, and similar to zucchini in shape. I'm a big fan of vining plants because they are so fullfilling to watch grow and these apparently, will take over what ever you plant them against. They can be eaten when young, or left to dry on the vine to make loofah sponges, soaps, etc. You can read a bit more about them here or here.

Doug and I are starting to hash out the details for next year's growing season. I don't think we'll have the ability to handle more than some basic veggies, but then again, we might. I can also try to sell the excess by putting out an honor-system vegetable stand along the road. Those do remarkably well around here. But the problem will be getting the beds in. I'd like to do several 8'x8' semi-raised beds. That way everything is accessible, and I can keep track of crop rotation. This also helps to group plants by ripeness dates. That way, you end up with an empty bed in late summer/early fall to plan winter crops, and for example, it's best to give the asparagus their own bed since I won't be seeing anything tasty from them for a couple years.

Besides the veggie garden, we also have a butterfly garden in the works and a need to start some serious ground cover/ erosion prevention along the edge of the property by the road. We've torn out a bunch of mulitflora and double briar and would like to replace it with a fast growing, good smelling vine--- maybe a variety of clematis and some honeysuckle. But it's gotta go in right away in the spring.

And we can't forget the herb garden. It's very important to me to have all the herbs I've been missing available.... like fresh basil, tarragon, and cilantro. Or the medicinal ones -- chamomile, bee balm, mint, etc. Some of them I can combine in other plots, but I'd like to set aside and herb area -- hopefully be able to park it near and area to grow flowers for cutting. I've found all kinds of seeds at www.seedman.com which seems to be a great website. We also have the perfect place for sunflowers.... and don't forget the lilacs or fruit trees we need to put in, and eventually some berries.

Sheesh. D and I are talking about establishing grow lights in our basement in order to start seedlings early. Ideally I'd like to have a shed or greenhouse setup for that and a cold frame for hardening them off. Grow lights use a lot of electricity, too, so I'm wonder on the economic value of them,especially if we used them in the basement until we can get a greenhouse set up in a few years. I mean, right now, we don't really even want to pay the $700 or so it will cost to get a half decent shed to put the lawnmower in!

So -- I'm sure it's all about pacing. I'll be starting classes in March. Fortunately they're evening classes, so in theory, I can get a grip on the spring planting and such. Oh, and before we do any of the big stuff, we need to have the property surveyed and fenced in order to keep the deer as out as we can AND clear a bunch of the area to make it useable. And don't forget the idea to start a goat dairy here, too! I think those'll wait a few years. Or, even better, we can start out with one or two goats, see how that goes and expand as we move along. That way the care and maintenance are learned along the way, and become more "routine".

So I guess it's time to sit down and start prioritizing. Speaking of routine and priorities... it's time to go paint the walls with some color samples, refinish a table, clean the living room, feed the chickens, make some business calls, sweep, wash dishes, transplant some books, do laundry, and make dye.

Whee!