Growing Pains

When Mikey and I first started thinking about purchasing our home, I immediately started researching greenhouses, gardens, and typically - just how to grow something! The house is on an acre of land, with a large garden, and working greenhouse. I started feeling overwhelmed, because I didn't know how to grow anything! How would I know when to start my plants, where to keep them, what kind of seeds to buy, what kind of soil I should use, what does this fertilizer do compared to that fertilizer, what if nothing grows, what if I wasted this whole summer trying to grow something and I end up with nothing! Having a garden is a lot of work, but owning a greenhouse is very intimidating!

When we found out that the purchase went through, and the house was ours, the pressure sat heavy on my shoulders - the previous owner sold plants, flowers and veggies from the greenhouse, and a lot of the locals were asking if we were going to do the same! Well of course we would like to - but can we? Do we know how? (I sure don't!) I kept thinking back to last summer when Mikey's father gave me a couple tomato plants in a large pot to grow in my apartment in the city. Despite my efforts to help them grow and keep them healthy, they just grew spindly and eventually shriveled and died. I didn't want to make any promises to the locals of fresh garden tomatoes, and vine ripened cucumbers until I knew what I was doing, and could prove to myself that I could actually grow something!

We got possession of our house in December, and I started making some new years resolutions. One was to find a way to become more self sufficient - therefore saving money - aka... growing my own produce in my own garden and greenhouse! At the time, the yard and garden were still covered in snow. Its hard to plan out what you are going to grow when you don't know what you have to work with, and what might already be existing! This was a set back that really seemed to bother me, because I had hopes of growing so much, but didn't want to get my hopes up when I found out that we only have a 4x4 plot.

I spent a lot of the past few months reading books and various gardening material to hopefully gain some knowledge before it's time to start my plants. I ordered plant and seed catalogs online, and started pricing out how much growing my own produce will even cost! I got Mikey to pick me up some gardening books from second hand shops and thrift stores, and even got some given to me from friends! (thanks friends!) Let me tell you - some of that stuff is DRY, but once you read enough of it, you start to understand it. It got to a point where I couldn't stop reading about soil types and pH and fertilizers and weeds... Holy gardening overload Batman!

Soon after that, I felt it was time to make it official, so I decided on a Canadian seed company to buy from, and spent $300 on veggie and fruit seed! Oh boy... did I just make a huge mistake?

Since the last few weeks of March, the sun has been out quite often, and the weather has been very warm. (for March anyways - especially in Northern Alberta!) All the snow has melted from the yard, and the garden... is HUGE! Mikey and I spent an afternoon measuring the garden and worked up areas for planting! The garden is about 50' x 50' - IF NOT MORE! At least half of it will be veggie planting material! I drew out a map of the garden, and made sure I had space for everything I wanted to plant.

Now what to do with all these seeds? Well, that needs more research of course! I'm a weirdo for making charts and graphs for everything, but it really helps if I have at-a glance material to refer to, especially with the overload of info while I'm gardening! What I decided to do was start a word document, and write out the "When, How, What, Where, Harvest, Caution, Friends, and Good to know" for each kind of vegetable I bought. It has really made it easy to see when I have to start my plants, and how to take care of each one. Here is an example:

Beets

When: Direct sow into ground as soon as it is workable, about 2 weeks before last frost.
Soil temp: 18-24C. Make a large planting again about 90 days before the first frost.
How: Sow ½-1” deep, 3” apart, with 18-12” between rows.
Re-seed every 2 weeks until late June.
What: Compost or well rotted manure, lime, and pure wood ashes mixed in soil before planting. Apply Boron 4-6 weeks later. Mulch lightly with straw.
Where: Full Sun location, with light, well drained and cool soil. Ph of 6.5-8.0.
Harvest: 45 day maturity (1.5 months), eat young and tender greens for salads, and beet roots when 2-3” in diameter (golf ball size). Storage beets can be pulled when a frost threatens. After a dry spell, pull out and cure in the sun for a few hours. Trim foliage leaving half the stem, and pack in moist sand.
Caution: Keep well watered.
Friends: bush bean, cabbage family, corn, leek, lettuce, onion, radish.
Good to know: Germination in 1-2 weeks, depending on temperature.