Nearly Natural Nicole: Planning My Spring Garden

2011 Raised Bed & Strawberry Patch

I love eating fresh fruits and vegetables and I've found the best and most frugal way to have delicious produce is to grow it myself. I've been planting a backyard garden every spring for over 10 years. I started when we moved into our first house which had a garden plot with a strawberry patch. I didn't know what to do that first year despite growing up with gardening parents. I choose a few seeds and followed the directions on the package. I learned a lot over the years and I'm still figuring things out- in gardening and in life.

Cucumber & Tomatoes

I'll cover a few of the things I'm doing in my 2012 garden.

This year I have three raised beds and a fenced 5 year old strawberry patch in my backyard garden. I ordered all my 2012 seeds from Seed Savers Exchange (SSE). SSE is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. I'm focusing this year on growing heirloom vegetables and trying out some herbs.

One of my gardening goals every year is to organically grow as much of the dirty dozen as I can and not bother with the clean 15. I don't strictly stick to this as it's more important that we grow things we love and my kids' preferences often influence what I grow.

In my newest and largest raised bed I'm planting for the first time a three sisters garden which was something the Native Americas did long ago. They found that corn, beans and squash grew well together and complimented each other. Garden Girl TV demonstrates how to plant a three sisters garden and explains the benefits. The three varieties I'm planting are Stowell's Evergreen Corn, Sultan's Golden Crescent Green Beans and Black Beauty Zucchini Squash.

My oldest son Zane is picky about his vegetables but he LOVES fresh shelled peas from the garden. My peas didn't do well last year so I choose a different variety and trellis this year just for him. I'm growing British Wonder Peas in my second raised bed and I'm planting a lot of them. I'm also growing 3 varieties of potatoes that were sprouting in my pantry so I cut them up to plant in my garden.

Lettuce isn't the most exciting thing I'm growing but it is my favorite. I love to have a couple of containers of lettuce growing right outside my back door so I can easily get a few leaves for a lunchtime salad or to put on burgers for dinner. Most lettuce varieties turn bitter when the weather heats up so I picked varieties that survive the heat. I'm planting Slobolt Looseleaf Lettuce, Grandpa Admire's Butterhead Lettuce and some other looseleaf lettuce seeds I've got leftover from last year.

I want to do more with natural herbs this year but I value fresh vegetables the most so I'm going to focus on just a couple of herbs. I'm growing English Lavender, Parsley, Hyssop, and German Chamomile.

Every year I add a few more raspberry plants as that is a favorite fruit in my family. Most of the additions die within the first year but I keep trying different varieties. This year our yellow raspberries look great and are spreading out so I transplanted 6 of the canes in other places around the yard. If the original yellow raspberry plant keeps spreading I'll transplant more of it's canes and have it in every corner of the yard.

2011 Raised Beds

These are some of the things I'm doing in my backyard this year. I've loved eating and growing my own delicious food and I'm excited to see how my plants grow in 2012.

If you've ever considered giving gardening a try- just do it! Even if you only have a patio- use containers and plant lettuce and herbs. If you've got windowsills, plant a few pots of herbs or flowers. The amount of space you have doesn't matter! Plant what you like to eat and grow it without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Give your kids a chance to understand where food comes from.