Next year, next year. I can’t believe it is already time to begin planning for next year. There are only TWO more months in 2019, my dear readers. Daylights savings time is this weekend! I can’t believe it, but I am excited for what’s to come. This year, our garden didn’t do as well as I’d hoped.
It was big. It was tucked far away. It had a highly invasive weed. With both of us working – and me working *way* more than originally planned, there was a lot of slippage. Channeling my inner Joe Salatin here. Slipage was to be expected. It is all the stuff that happens on a farm that piles into large stuff. The stuff you don’t notice until its too late. And then it takes up ALL your time. A weed growing here. A fence broken there. Slippage.
Things didn’t get watered, beds didn’t get weeded, ripe fruit didn’t get picked. Frankly, it was a little embarrassing how little we harvested out of our 32’x100′ garden. We are trying to homestead, people! I need to live up to my reputation among friends as Homesteading Queen. A sloppy garden just wont do.
We also had two gardens by the barn: our squash patch (which we planted way too late) and our potato patch (+ kale). Both did fairly well given the minimal maintenance we provided. I’m happy enough with them. BUT we can do better.
Our goal for some eventual time in the future is to grow 100% of our own food. If you ask Zach, he’ll tell you that’s his goal for 2020. Then he’ll have McDonalds for lunch. Ha. But in all seriousness, we want to grow 100% of our own food. Or at least as much as we can. We’ll grow & dry a lot of herbs, use fats from our animals, like butter from our dairy cow. We’ll sweeten our food with honey and maple syrup. And we’ll have a LARGE produce garden which will supply us with fresh food to eat and store for winter. Oh and grains. I really want to grow some grains!! I read that 1000 square feet will give about 60 pounds of flour… That seems like enough to me… Is it too late to plant some Red Winter Fife???
So, right now I am planning our garden for next year. Time to get serious. We will have to gardens. Behind the barn yard, we will have 35 30-inch-wide, 30-foot-long beds. Near our house will have 15 30-inch-wide, 15-foot long beds. We have formed the beds near our house, but have yet to dig up anything by the barn.
Hopefully, with this garden being closer to the house I will see it and weed it. Next summer in addition to tending the gardens, I will have 5 sheep and 2 pigs to watch over. And the chickens. And whatever else comes by our way 🙂
Stay tuned, and stay warm!