Friday, April 25, 2014

Wherein Rain Buys Me Some Time, AKA Planning Your Garden Pt. 2

The elusive rain is falling as we speak, crushing my plans - I even had it written in my datebook! - for planting. That's okay; I can spend a little more time reviewing my plans and buying strategy.

This year, my garden plan started with the kindergartener requesting his "own little garden", probably based on the Milly-Molly-Mandy story in which she is gifted a surprise plant for her garden plot. I made him a land grant last fall and nothing came up, as so often is the case when I do ad hoc sowing, so I want to wrap his plot in with the bigger picture and hopefully facilitate some success... or at least a sprout or two.

Next, I had to soothe the three-year-old who was burning with injustice that she was not going to get her own little garden. "You'll be mommy's number one helper!" Uh-huh, she's heard that one before and it's starting to wear thin.

Then, I consulted my copy of Pam Peirce's Golden Gate Gardening, which points me to the edibles that should be planted April-May, allowing of course for microclimate-based margins of error. We live in the cooler, breezier band so generally I follow Peirce's recommendations for foggier areas although the fog cover actually varies quite a bit year to year here. From the long wish list of spring plants, I slotted spaces into a sketch of my vegetable garden (leaving space for my son's). This weeded out the lower priorities and plants that have a shot at midsummer or fall planting. There's also a short list that I may try in our front yard, always a problem because I forget to water out there... so lower priority plants get a chance to impress me with their drought resistance, ha.

My final aspirational list of plants and seeds to sow this spring - let's say between now and Mother's Day: 5 tomatoes (three cherry and two standard), zucchini, pumpkin, basil, lettuce, cilantro, beans, sugar snap peas, lemon verbena, and cucumber. Now I have to make it to the nursery/ies and fulfill this lengthy shopping list!

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