Getting Ready to Garden - To CSA or Not to CSA, that is the question!

I'm anxious to get into the garden!  The geese have been flying north already in small groups. 

The only catch is that I haven't taken the time to get those seeds started.  Sooooo today I started some Brocolli, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Peppers and some Parsley.  I'm only a couple of weeks late so hopefully it won't be to big of an issue.  I'll be starting some other herbs and flowers in the coming weeks.

There is still snow on the ground from one of the only two or three snows we've had this year so the garden is still fast asleep.  The last one was a good amount of snow and has hung around a bit inspite of the fact that we've had days in the 40's.  Today we are suppose to get thundershowers so that will probably remove any remaining snow on the ground.

I'm thinking about doing a small CSA garden.  Most of the CSA's have already been started so I need to make that decision soon!  Sooner the better!  What's a CSA garden?  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Usually a CSA is formed by a farmer and the customers sign up and pay for the ability to receive a box of produce weekly from the farmer during the growing season.  The upfront fee supports the farmer early in the season so that he can buy seeds, etc to get the garden going and helps him to know just how much and what to grow.

The garlic I grew last year did really well and I am still using, what I didn't replant, for cooking.  My rose bushes were moved last fall and the garlic was planted in large numbers in the three feet I left between the plants.

Sleeping in the garden are thousands of Daylilies plus some Asparagus, Grapes, Strawberries, Currants, Aronia, Blackberries, Sage, Thyme, Oregano, Chives, Mint and other herbs including some Echnicea that will be old enough to harvest a few roots this year.

As usual I've set up my calendar for the planting of the rest of the vegetables that will grow in Grandma Farmers garden this year.  I schedule on my calendar when to plant seeds and when to set the plants I'm growing inside to give them a chance to provide me with a bountiful harvest.  The first of the seeds, onion sets and potatoes go in just after St Patricks day.  Sometimes that's a little early and I wait a few days but, I have a feeling we're in for an early spring this year so I'll push that envelope.

Greens will be planted around the 19th of March: Argula, Spinach, Kale and bok choy.  I'll also plant some carrots and radish.  I don't plant to many carrots but I did experiment with them last year and what I planted in my new raised bed system did well.

Come back and watch our garden grow!  We'll update you on what we plant, harvest and have available for sale. 

Anyone can garden so we'll be giving you ideas on how to grow your own garden and show you some things we are trying this year.