Part one of an ongoing series related to vegetable gardening efforts, tips and ideas.

Part One: Sad Beige Garden

I plan for this post to be the first in a series about vegetable gardening. With luck, I’ll be able to provide updates and tips/lessons learned along the way. We’ve had a garden plot off and on over the years on our little homestead but these past two seasons, by far, have represented the most extensive efforts.

Winter is ending – slowly – and my thoughts are turning towards gardening again. Just my thoughts though, no actual efforts have been made yet other than to look at our plot and contemplate what’s needed to get it back into shape. As you can see in the pictures above, it’s a bit of a war zone. The soil has been workable off and on but it’s still that season where you want to start digging in but your efforts will likely get wrecked by another freeze or two.

We fenced off the garden last year as we have deer that regularly travel through the property but the main reason is that all three of our dogs will go out of their way to roll around in the beds and trample/rip things out of the garden. About all that gets in now are rabbits which made off with my Brussels sprout plants early last year. I have ambitions to lay down some chicken wire along the bottom of the fence to keep the bunnies out. I’m not opposed to harvesting a few now and again but would rather not.

Seed Supplier

I typically order the seeds we use from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. They have a ton of varieties, many of which are hard to come by, and all of which are heirloom so you can save the seeds for subsequent plantings. I’ve been using them for several years and have always had a great experience. About the only time it was a struggle was when the pandemic hit and seeds were hard to come by everywhere so some of the staples I typically ordered weren’t available. They are also in my home state of Missouri so shipping is quick and the money stays relatively local.

Routine Garden Plot Prep Work

For this time of year, vegetable garden efforts are preparatory and once the weather is somewhat agreeable, I’ll torch off the grass and around the fence to try to mitigate weed and tree growth. I avoid herbicides for a variety of reasons. Plus, I get to carry around a propane torch which sounds like a mini jet engine and is basically a flamethrower. The appeal is obvious.

Once the torching is complete, I’ll reapply cardboard between the beds and overlay that with straw I scythe from our upper field with this bad boy:

I came by scything last season and ordered this one from Scythe Supply. It was an outfit they offer and it came with a custom sized snath (the handle), a whetstone and holder, plus several other useful items. I got a blade through them but the one in the photo is from Scythe Works, which is based in Canada. As you can imagine, there aren’t a lot of places out there that offer quality scythes and many of them are one-person shops. The turnaround can be a little slower than those used to ordering from Amazon, but the quality and attention to detail is beyond compare. Likewise, the customer service is wonderful.

One of my favorite things is waking up just before sunrise, heading out to the field and working the scythe across the grass (the dew makes it much easier to cut). The work has a comforting rhythm to it and you can get the grass cut while hearing the birds. It looks like hard work (and it’s a workout for sure) but it’s not as strenuous as you might suspect as long as you keep the blade in good shape. There’s an old-wordiness to it that I find appealing and a satisfaction from the keen edge slicing through the stalks of grass.

Garden Plan for This Year

For now though, I have to be content with planning and starting some seedlings for the vegetable garden. The starting lineup for this year is:

• Carrot – Koral. First year trying these. Used Danvers last year with mild success.
  
• Turnip – Tokinashi. A Japanese variety. I attempt to make sushi from time to time and like to incorporate Japanese turnip varieties. First year with this one.
  
• Pea – Lillian’s Caseload. First year trying this one. Forgot what I used last year. They had a good yield but wanted to try this one as it seems more suitable to our climate. I had fresh peas off the vine for the first time just three years ago. In that moment, I felt like I had not lived before.
  
• Parsnip – Hollow Crown. I think I used this one last year. Only planted a few but they were basically plant and forget and taste great roasted.
  
• Melon – Charentais. We did not plant melon last year. It was a shame.
  
• Lettuce – Rocky Top mix. I’ve used this variety for many years. Good mix and it doesn’t seem to bolt too early if you pick it aggressively.
  
• Cucumber – Belt Alpha. One cannot have a vegetable garden without cucumbers in my opinion. This is a new variety to us but I can’t seem to recall ever having a problem coaxing a cucumber vine into abundant production. We trellis ours.
  
• Cabbage – Brunswick. Used this variety last year. All but one was were lost to a crafty team of rabbits.
  
• Beet – Chioggia. New this year. Beets aren’t for everyone but they are for me. This is new to us and was intrigued by the striation.
  
• Black Beans – Don’t recall the variety. Ordered some from Baker Creek years ago and each year have saved some seeds for next year. Easy to grow and good yield.

Tomatoes, potatoes and onions we buy as plants or sets. I’ve grown tomatoes from seed in the past and it’s not worth the hassle to me anymore. We grow sweet corn too but mostly for the stalks we can later use for fall decoration.

We also have an herb garden with the usual suspects – rosemary, thyme, oregano, lavender, chives. Also have a few flowers such as marigold (for pests), Nicotania and occasionally, some bread seed poppy.

Wrap Up

I’ve always found working with the earth and plants a contemplative, spiritual experience. There is a cooperative agreement and dialogue between the one who works the soil and that which is being worked, I think, which comes with patience and contemplation. It requires a certain sensitivity to be open enough to understand each other’s needs, so to speak. Although St. Francis is often associated with nature, and statues of him populate many gardens, the actual patron saint of gardening is St. Fiacre. Fun fact, he is also the patron of those suffering from hemorrhoids (once called St. Fiacre’s figs, yum).

So, if you have ambitions to start gardening this season, even if it’s just a few pots on the porch, I encourage it as the rewards are great. Hopefully, I’ll have more updates along the way as we continue our orbit around the sun and the days get longer and warmer.