Update!

The internet being down for a few days actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.I have had a chance to do some work on the book, up to around 100 pages, woo hoo. Been writing on permaculture and adding more plant varieties to the catalog, i think over 250 now. I have also been working on the greenhouse design, I hope to have a few sketches up soon. because its attached to the house i also have worked on the entire house plan. stay tuned on this because there will be an e book on this too, as well as in the printed book. LOL the sunflowers are over 2 feet tall, with over a month before i can get them outside, thank goodness for the mini-greenhouse. That's about all for today, if the net says up look forward to more frequent posts.

Looking forward to spring!

The forecast for this weekend calls for upper 50's to lower 60's woo hoo. The ground is still too wet, but there are areas I can do some planting. So I'm planning on planting some peas and carrots and begin hardening off the broccoli that I've started indoors. Were planning out beefing up our clay soil, eliminating this too wet problem we seem to face every year. Putting in raised beds, some hugelkulture also introducing a good amount mulch. Straw and some other amendments are going to be key.

Still haven't found a local source for amaranth or sunchokes but still looking. Local nurseries are not even open yet, when they finally do open I'm hoping to stock up on some of these kind of rarer veggies. It's hard waiting for local companies to offer what I know should be available now. It's even hard to find much in the fruit trees, They need to be planted soon, soooo frustrating. I'm going to be solving this issue myself by offering these services from our own homestead, also educating people locally about these issues. Some of the plans to make a difference. Even going as far as offering free perennials with purchase of annuals. Check back often or listen to Fridays podcast for more information. That's all for today. Start your own Freedom Garden... You can make a difference!

What to expect here

I thought about doing something like this for awhile but kept putting it off, it's not like I needed another project. Then I decided to combine my garden journal with a blog. So this blog will be just as valuable to myself as to those who learn from its postings.

Today is April 4th 2011 I'm a little frustrated with the snow, as I should be planting peas and carrots on Wednesday, The old farmers almanac is a good tool to use in planning planting date. Some people go exclusively with this, I don't, but I do consider it a good tool. So It's looking like the second week of April for planting the cold hardy types and then so on.

I will be doing succession planting this year, Some crops like peas and carrots every 2 weeks for awhile, and radish and green types probably every week in the early spring.

An update to those following my garden progress: The seedlings under the grow lights are doing well, though I am sorta concerned with the sunflowers.They are growing way too fast, and wont be able to be planted until May. So I have to find an area to pot them up to, then still get them enough light. I planted them this early as to get a faster production on the seeds and just to see how well they would do. Now we know... they love it inside. Some of the other seedlings are catching up fast. The Broccoli is growing it's second set of true leaves and are around 4in tall. a few at first were a little spindly but now they are loving life. All the tomatoes and peppers, squash, cukes etc are great. the okra, nasturtiums, and Chinese cabbages  all planted later are doing good. As a whole about 500+ seedlings are healthy and strong. The germination rares are still in the high 90's percent.

I hope to have pictures coming soon so you all can see examples of what I talking about. Feel free to comment, sub etc. If you have questions, again feel free to ask.

Till next time: Planting seeds for a better tomorrow, Growing Freedom one step at a time.