Our weather has been warming up. So, it is time to be prepping my garden for the 2024 planting season. My compost pile is ready to use.
Last week my tasks amped up a lot. This is why I didn't have a post here. Pulling out the dead weeds and veggie plants from last fall had to be done first. Spreading some of the compost on top of the area was a must. The previous week my trellis went up for my pinto beans and making mounds in the back area for the squash with compost spread on top.
My planting map for this year was finished in January. Creating a simple map of where to plant definitely makes my job easier. This year, I am planting fewer varieties of vegetables but more of them.
Every year I do experiment with one or two extra veggies to see how they will grow in my area. Last years experiment were the pinto beans. I grabbed a few from my jar (they are non-gmo) and they grew well. All the seeds I will be planting are from the ones I seed saved from.
Towards the back, I added another recycled trash can section for planting more garlic. Sunflowers will be planted again. My chickens enjoy eating the dried heads during the winter as a treat.
One thing I will be letting grow in the garden is grass. My chickens love to eat it fresh. I figure in a specific area this will be fine to just let it grow. My thoughts are to gather the grass and save some bundles for the wintertime. This will be another FREE treat for the chickens.
Having a plan and taking those steps to prepare the garden and my planting map helps with time organization. My goal this year is to continue canning what I am able to. The price of food continues to rise and I have cut back on grocery spending as much as I can. Right now, I have my hubby give me just a little bit of money every other month for groceries. The items I have grown from last year have easily helped me implement the less money to purchase groceries.
Using amount of property that the Lord has provided for us is working out well. We just have a handful of chickens for eggs, a water catch system for the garden, and more then enough room to expand our garden and or food animals if needed.
We are thankful to have what we have in order to be less dependent on the local grocery stores. If you can plant a container garden or garden boxes, do this as quickly as you can. Just by seeing what is happing in our own town, state and country the need to grow your own safe food is important.
Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!
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