2014 was a great year, but all of my successes only made me realise how much more I want to accomplish! In the world of gardening, more is definitely better! Here are my goals for 2015:
I can't convince Tim to sacrifice any more of our backyard to my growing passion (haha! pun intended!), so this year I am going vertical. I have a large fence that is begging to be turned into my third vegetable patch. I've seen fantastic ideas on the internet that I want to try to recreate, like this one
So for my birthday this year (coming up in two weeks!), I have asked for window boxes, which will be attached to the fence. It won't look this fancy, but they should be just as effective. I plan to use my vertical garden for my lettuces, spinach and herbs. This will free up more land in the main vegetable patch, which will also be slightly, ever so slightly, enlarged (don't tell Tim!) What will I do with this extra space, you ask... I plan to grow twice as many carrots and onions this year, so that I can put some up for the winter, and I'm going to try some new veggies this year, as well: leeks and peas. So excited!
We eat a bit more honey than the average family, it being a less refined product than sugar. Plus, I like the idea of supporting my local farmers, and I love the idea of beekeeping. I would love to have a hive myself one day, and even though it probably won't happen in the near future, it's a dream I'm not giving up on.
Hopefully this will give me a greater yeild, and they'll last a bit longer into the fall and winter. Last year I also missed the chance to harvest and freeze my herbs before the frost hit. Waste waste waste.
We picked a couple liters of blueberries in the forrest last year, but not a single mushroom! I also found out last fall that a nearby public wooded area is full of hazelnut trees. Did I go pick any? No. Shame on me.
Goal #1
Goal #2: Start buying our honey from a local farmer.
Goal #3: Start drying tomatoes and pickling cucumbers much earlier in the summer.
Goal #4
More foraging!
So basically, I want to produce more food and save more of it for winter use. I kept a record of my 2014 yield, and I want to see those numbers grow!
Tell me your plans for 2015, I'd love to be inspired by your ideas!
