Contemplating - Creating the garden in 2023 and making it a joyful place

January 1, 2023

The weather outside is cloudy today and it's raining hard—it's the perfect time for reflection.

    1. What worked well at the garden last year and what could I improve this year?
    2. Which crops did I use the most in my meals? What things did I grow that  family enjoyed cooking with and eating?  
    3. Which plants thrived and which ones struggled and didn't produce well? 
    4. What new and unusual plants might grow well in zone 9 and would also be fun to grow?

Goals for gardening this year:

     1. Be prepared to plant seeds/seedlings as the weather/season permits. Organize seeds into summer and spring-fall (cool weather crops).  

     2. Succession planting: start seeds or transplant plants every two to four weeks throughout the season for continuous harvest and best use of space.

     3. Be aware of what is in the garden to harvest to cook with or share to decrease waste, although chop and drop (placing leaves and plants that have been taken out of the garden on top of the soil) is also beneficial to soil health. 

     4. Keep the garden as a place of joy. If gardening feels like work change it up, break up tasks into achievable tasks, garden with a friend, enjoy the moment.

PLAN FOR TODAY, zone 9b seed starting indoors: 

     1. Plant peppers in starter trays - a mix of hot and mild flavors.

     2. Start strawberry  seeds (white, orange, and red varieties). It will be two years before strawberries grow.

     3. Plant lettuce in a pot on the patio, close to the kitchen for quick access. The location will extend  the harvest when the weather turns hot, as it is partially shielded from the  direct sun.

Note: Gardening with family and friends has brought joy: learning from each other and from the plants themselves; enjoying chats with gardeners and potlucks at the community garden; pickling veggies for the first time and searching for recipes that include vegetables and herbs we grow. Seeing creatures from hawks, ladybugs and flashes of red, yellow and black as monarchs, swallowtails and gulf fritillary butterflies visited, I'm glad the rain today caused us to pause and reflect and plan.  --Sister