01/21/2017
It's the time of year that I start to get excited about my summer garden. This will be my third growing season since I decided to start growing my own food. For reference, I didn't grow up knowing anyone that grew a vegetable. So, this is all new to me. Each year, I learn a lot from my experiences and improve my methods. Getting everything planted on time is still a challenge. Planning ahead is really key. So this is when I start to think about how I want to plant my garden. Last year, I started some vegetables inside our greenhouse, that would have fared better if I had just planted them in the ground. I underplanted corn. Appearently, organic corn has a low germination rate so you have to plant a lot. We went on vacation for 10 days to introduce our brand new son to family in Washington. When we got back, the garden had exploded with weeds and we had never quite recooperated. Had I not started seeds early last year, I probably wouldn't have gotten my garden because our son as born in April, which is prime planting for certain vegetables. It's a goal of ours to test our soils and observe our fields this year to gather information that will be critical to the success of a larger fall crop for public sale. We also need to explore outlets for bulk produce. I hope this effort will result in a convenient resource for others who have an interest in home vegetable raising, as I make an attempt at growing a green thumb. There is tremendous value in growing you own food. - Ashley
