Beds !

Here are my garden beds:4- 5'x8' beds Made from 2"x12" treated lumber treated with only copper NOT chromium or arsenic ! Arsenic is not allowed to be used any more but reclaimed treated lumber may still have arsenic. Chromium has different forms some being "safe" and some proven to not be "safe". I didn't want to risk it for my family's veggies. I also didn't want to spend the money on cedar which is naturally anti fungal. There are plastic pre made beds and again cost was a factor and I just don't like plastic! I treated the grass in my beds with an organic herbicide to kill the grass I will share the brand if it works! Then I will fill the beds with soil! And plant ! I am planning on putting things in the end on April and less hardy things the first couple weeks in May !

Spring?

It looks like I am not the only one who thinks spring is nearly here these mini white daffodils are just as confused as I am ... I was hoping to clean up the old foliage in early spring. It's February and I am getting too late! Also I started leveling my vegetable beds it's going to be more challenging than I thought, the "level spot" in my yard has quite the grade! I will have to have sloped beds or one side will have to be built up.. We'll see!  I stand corrected these flowers in the picture are "snow drops".  My lovely neighbor Jane told my last night and maybe there is a name on the back of that metal marker I didn't look.  Jane's husband studied horticulture I think at UW Madison but am not sure I'm not sure!  They both know a ton about plants! Jane explained that Charlie just taught her last year that their are two varieties of snow drops some with golden centers and some with white centers I have the white variety and she has the golden!

Starting Seeds ...Goals

So I am staring seeds indoors! Already in February! I am in growing zone 5A! According to me research and calculations with a last possible frost date being around May 15 this is my schedule! Start broccoli and cabbage(and any other cool weather veggie in the mustard family) February 12, tomatoes March 24, peppers March 17, marigold March 10, cucumbers and melons April 28! I have an I the dirt schedule I am still working on! All stared indoors. Its kinda crazy really I have goals of growing all the veggies my family will eat in a year I think the spirit of the homes past is lurking.. 52 cans of each! I am totally serious and putting out feelers to on canning jars! I am planning on freezing a lot this year until I get jars and I prefer the taste of frozen vegetables. I will can jelly, pickles, and maybe some dilly beans! I have a raspberry patch I did some work on in the fall I will blog more on that in the future.

Nothing Says I Love You Like .....

Today I got a compost tumbler as a valentine gift from Jim! I said "so what do you get?" he replied "a couple of new crystal chandeliers for the house!" then he explained I would put them up with out complaining, that would be his gift. So what can I compost? Anything that isn't a major protein or a fat! Fruit scrapes, coffee grounds, plain rice or pasta, veggie scrapes, egg shells, yard waist... I say major proteins or fats because I will put veggies that have butter or oil on them, I will also put in bean like veggies that contain protein or an avocado that has fat! No meat or eggs pasta with cream sauce etc... I couldn't be more excited about the compost tumbler.. We saw it a couple of days ago at Sam's Club! It was around $100. I wanted a tumbler rather than a bin because compost has to be turned to make it decompose more quickly. I will keep blogging on the results! Happy Valentines Day !

Planning

As soon a started looking at homes I was exited about the possibility of a garden.  So after buying our house i started to think of how and where in my yard the garden would go in our yard.  Where was the sun shinning how big would my garden be.  I don't know a ton but I know a garden needs sun.  I knew where the previous owners had theirs it was prime play area for our kids and dog . Maybe, I could just use a little bit of the best space in the yard! I kept watching the sun track the sky to see where the trees would cast their shadows.  The trees had grown since the Mraz Garden.  The Mraz garden was great!  They has six children and would can 52 jars of beans and 52 cans of carrots and on and on....52 cans of each because there are 52 weeks in a year.  The Mraz family owned the house for 47 years!  Its no wonder the the trees has grown.  In front of the garden shed seemed like a great place with lots of sun. This area has a short rock all that will need to be fixed and some mood flowers in front of it.  I discovered they were a TOXIC!  So no huge loss there.  The more I was thinking about a garden the more I talked about it.  So a conversation with my friend Cynthia about risen beds yielded valuable information about companion gardening and raised bed gardening!  She gave me the name of the man who perfected raised bed gardening: Mel Bartholomew Square Foot Gardening her is a link to the webpage I found.  I got his book along with The Backyard Homestead and I was exited but, it wasn't until the Jung Seed catalog came that I really started to get serious.  Jim thought A LITTLE TOO SERIOUS!  "Its f-ing winter !" So away I went into planning!

Seedlings

Jung Seeds

 Here is a link to the seed company I ordered most of my seeds from! A catalog came a few months ago for the previous home owner or current resident and was a Wisconsin company.  They ship to most states!
Jung Seed

Starting to build the beds !

My beds are 5x8' and made from treated pine 2x12" lumber! I found a lumber that was only treated with copper! I don't want my family to eat contaminated veggies! I want to be as organic as possible!