Winter Garden Planning

It is that time of year when I start getting seed and flower catalogs and I start dreaming about my garden. What do I want to plant this year and what will we eat? I got inspired this year by looking at the photos I had taken last year. I forgot how pretty my garden was. When I go into it I just look at all the weeding that I need to do and the picking and I forget the overall picture. It is very satisfying to walk out the door and pick what you want to go with your dinner. 

Last year was the first time my garden really kept us fed. Having it all in boxes and hay spread around really helped with the weeding. Of course my wonderful oldest son also helped a lot. He would come and visit and weed. He didn't want me bending that much. He already has me in a wheelchair and a granny panties. I keep telling him I am not that old but he feels he has to watch out for me.

  I love the gardening and the planning and looking at the catalogs. I like to buy heirloom seeds and I should probably save my own. I will get that figured out one day. I get my seeds locally so that I know what grows here. We live in a very different valley with many micro-climates I have to think about. This will be my fourth year here and I have been adding compost and hay and leaves to my garden yearly and the soil is looking really good. I have rabbits just so I can put their poop in the garden. The chicken poop goes into the compost pile. 

My only problem with the garden is getting water to it. Last year I set up 4 hoses down to it and a drip system I ran threw most of the boxes and they were on a timer. That seemed to work really well. I just had to remember to go put the water and the timer on. I have three different planting spots outside the garden and I would unhook the main hose and hook it to another one to get each of these. It is a process but it gives me time to enjoy it all and see how the plants are doing. We have a spring feed well and so far water has not been an issue, thank goodness.  I hope everyone is planning their garden and enjoying this time of quiet.