Crafting My Bliss

I’ve been anxiously waiting to start planting outside. I’ve already started planting a few seeds indoors, but I’m so eager to get out into the yard. I understand that part of gardening is being patient, but as I said before, I’m anxious.

I think God is definitely on my side because one of the first things that popped up on my social media feed this morning was the article “20 Seeds You Can Direct Sow in Winter.” I actually already have six of the twenty. I’m planting kale, butterhead lettuce, green leaf lettuce, spinach, beets, snap peas, and cauliflower. They all harvest fairly quickly, so they shouldn’t have a huge impact on my planting schedule. I haven’t had much success with any of the leafy greens, peas, or beets. This is my first time planting cauliflower, so fingers crossed. I’m hoping I’ll have some success since I’m starting them in the winter. This is me trying something different. Let the experiment begin.

I recruited my son to come with me to Home Depot. (Technically, I rode with him in his car because I currently have a flat.) We loaded up on compost. I purchased twelve bags, to be exact. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to add to my existing garden beds and fill my new beds. I also bought some radish seeds because they’re good companion plants for cauliflower, lettuce, and spinach. I buy seeds whenever I see them this time of year. It’s a problem—I know it is—and I’m trying to do better. I think I can confidently say I won’t make any more seed purchases for the next few months. Anyway, back to the experiment.

My existing beds are pretty high and probably don’t need any more soil, but I want to do some weed control and add nutrients. I’ve been saving cardboard boxes to place in all my beds, so I added a layer of cardboard and then wet the cardboard. Next, I added a layer of my Christmas tree cuttings and leaves. Last, I added compost. The cardboard will keep the weeds at bay, and the tree cuttings and leaves will be additional nutrients for the soil. 

Since I’m such an eager beaver and can’t be content with winter sowing being my only experiment, I’m also going to try crowd growing. This is when you completely ignore the spacing instructions on the seed packets and sow seeds closer together. As I mentioned earlier, I’ll also include companion plants. This has me so excited it almost doesn’t matter how things turn out. Companion planting helps attract beneficial insects and deter harmful ones. It can also help with soil nutrients. There’s so much information on companion planting. For these two beds, I used the article “Companion Planting Chart and Guide for Vegetable Gardens.”

Now that my beds have been refreshed, it’s time to start planting. I’ll keep you all posted on how this goes. In case you can’t already tell, there’s always something going on in my oasis.