Being able to watch a seed grow into a mature fruit bearing plant is really a wonderful miracle to behold. I so enjoy the work of gardening and would be sad if I wasn't able to grow at least something every spring/summer.
While I have a few years of gardening under my belt I still have much to learn. Every year after the garden is put to bed for the winter my mind naturally goes to next year and how things can be improved upon. I can say with certainty that we've harvested more food this year than any other year and that makes me happy, but I still want to do better next year. Here are a few things I want to change.
Plant less tomatoes. I had big dreams of canning a years supply of tomato products for my family and we probably produced enough tomatoes to get close, but things didn't quite work out. Tomatoes tend to gross me out when I'm pregnant so I ended up giving away a lot, but I did manage to can about 12 pints of juice and 4 pints of sauce. I've decided that next year I'm only going to focus on canning juice because its so easy and I use it often in chili and soup throughout the winter.
Plant more potatoes and onions. We eat these a lot and got a pretty good early crop from them this season. Next year I want to make sure to plant a second crop.
Plant less peppers. I usually end up growing 2-3 different kinds of peppers each season, but I've realized that we don't really eat that many peppers. Next year I'm only going to focus on bell peppers and leave the growing space for things we do eat.
Skip the watermelons. While it was fun to watch the watermelons grow, we couldn't eat the 3 that we produced without giving some away.
Grow more cool season crops. Even though I will have a newborn around this time, I still want to try out a few more cool season veggies come early spring.
Grow more flowers and herbs. I seem to have bad luck with these crops, but I keep trying. :)
Grow more fruit. I would love to grow more berries since they are expensive to buy and I love to make jam for gifts.
Grow more pumpkins and squash. I've absolutely loved growing my own pumpkins this year even though we only harvested a few. I've decided to plant more next year.
That's it for now, but I know I will have lots of ideas pop into my head through the winter months.
Have you started planning your garden for next year?
Plant less peppers. I usually end up growing 2-3 different kinds of peppers each season, but I've realized that we don't really eat that many peppers. Next year I'm only going to focus on bell peppers and leave the growing space for things we do eat.
Skip the watermelons. While it was fun to watch the watermelons grow, we couldn't eat the 3 that we produced without giving some away.
Grow more cool season crops. Even though I will have a newborn around this time, I still want to try out a few more cool season veggies come early spring.
Grow more flowers and herbs. I seem to have bad luck with these crops, but I keep trying. :)
Grow more fruit. I would love to grow more berries since they are expensive to buy and I love to make jam for gifts.
Grow more pumpkins and squash. I've absolutely loved growing my own pumpkins this year even though we only harvested a few. I've decided to plant more next year.
That's it for now, but I know I will have lots of ideas pop into my head through the winter months.
Have you started planning your garden for next year?
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