January- Spring Planning

At our January meeting, we discussed the importance of planning in the gardening world.  (Is this something I do religiously?  No.  But let's admit, it's a GREAT way to do things).  

We considered whether we wanted to have early spring crops (before our summer crops) and the answer was a resounding "YES!"

Then, we voted on what we would like to have- radishes? Peas? Early start on tomatoes?  Beets?

The winners were:  Peas

                               And Radishes

And, we'll definitely get plenty of flowers planted too, for the pollinators.  This is a must!

THE PLAN

We decided, in our planning, to amend the soil at our upcoming workday, to allow the soil to rest a bit, and sow our crops after that.

Pea Growing Requirements:

Students realized that peas will need trellises.  We will build a trellis for the peas, or use our one from last year, made of fallen branches.  We might need a teepee greenhouse for cold snaps.  Also

• twine
• maybe more branches
• pre-soaking seeds before sowing
• watching the weather and covering and watering accordingly

Radish Growing Requirements:

We discussed the importance of loose soil with growing root crops. Therefore, our plans for this crop include

• preworking the soil, to ensure it will support rapid, unrestricted growth.
• plenty of water

We also agreed to keep communicating with each other, to stay on top of our planning.  Not an easy task, with our busy school days, but I can't think of anything I'd rather do than talk about gardening with this group of optimists.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. 

-Helen Keller