Jessica’s Garden: Returning to Normal

After a lengthy hiatus from normal happenings, I am back. Our anticipated Thanksgiving baby arrived exactly three weeks behind schedule. We welcomed Hazel into our lives at home early Christmas Eve morning.  In just her short little existence, she has already changed and enriched our lives. And her big brother thinks the world of her. Watching them interact fills my heart.

Over the last several weeks, we’ve slowly been returning to normal. Which has been considerably easier this time around than being a first time parent.  The home repairs are on hold for a bit until the weather improves. The next renovation on the farmhouse docket is to finish the pantry we started in the Fall. Unfortunately, it’s not insulated from the elements, so until Spring hits and the walls warm up, no spackling or painting can be done. But I cannot wait; I am beyond ready to have my dining room as just a dining room and not an all purpose space.

Meanwhile, I have started planning the garden. And this year I hope that it’s bigger and better than ever. I actually put pen to paper for the first time ever and organized a task list. It starts with late Winter and goes seasonally on tasks to complete and crops to start during each part of the growing season, hopefully keeping us harvesting at least through the first frost.  Being in the process of starting up my own small business and having added another little one to our lives, I need some better organization.

This year we were still pulling beets and carrots until almost January.  As I mentioned during the Summer, we had a terrible problem with potato beetles. I’ve read that a way to alleviate this issue is to turn the soil in late winter to disturb the larvae before they can become beetles. So that’s first. And then I have some fruit bushes to transplant to their new home. And somewhere in there, starting the first round of cold weather crops. It’s about this time of year, when it’s cold and crummy, that I start craving getting out in the garden.

Grayson and I have been brainstorming new crops to try. His sense of adventure for food makes us proud. He’s always willing to try something new without hesitation. But he’s already instructed me that carrots are a must. They’re a favorite of his; he loves to eat them fresh from the garden. And then there’s Hazel–I’ll make her another garden and chicken lover yet.

by Jessica J. Crawford Behnkes Garden Blogger