Gardening Among the Semi-Annual Projects

Rather than declutter as my semi-annual home initiative, something that always falls short of intent, I shifted directions to focus on my gardens in a comprehensive way.  I've done this before in a limited way, selecting roses for one of the semi-annual twelve.  I now have two rose bushes on the side of my house, one thriving, one more of a runt but still flowering each spring.  Last year independent of formal initiatives I improved my containers at the front entrance and successfully planted asters in three cubical containers on the deck.  Caring for them took little effort, consistently applied, with disappointing container results.

This time I want to pursue something more elaborate. The Aerogarden has much more potential than has been achieved.  Containers can be planted outside the front with more attention to soil, plant selection, and plant placement.  Many years ago I established two 4x4 foot defined beds for a square foot garden.  These have never reached their potential, largely because I cut corners.  There are two areas in the back yard that can produce flowers.  And I have my roses.  

By far the Square Foot beds require the most attention.  I've made many mistakes over the years but am willing to exert some effort to planning and execution.  I think one will be allocated exclusively for culinary herbs, the other exclusively for vegetables.  Each has an underpinning of landscape fabric which limits weeds but largely precludes carrots or other root vegetables that grow downwards.  Vines take too much room but produce cucumbers and zucchini.  Tomatoes have produced more green than fruit, overtake the cages which topple, and limit access to and production in adjacent squares, making me wonder whether Square Foot is really the best format.  

On a tour through the Christmas Tree Shop in mid-winter, their seed packets have come on display, which means I need to select and purchase what I want, at least for the herbs that tend to sell out first.  My own vegetables grown outdoors from seed have not generally done well, so perhaps it's time to do my own indoor winter planting.  But by far, the biggest challenge for me in those beds will be to enhance the thickness of the soil, and probably the quality of the soil as well.  I suspect my outdoor containers need better drainage, so maybe a layer of stones at the bottom of each might pay off at harvest time.  And most of all a schedule of what needs doing when without excuses that keep me indoors.  I think I can make it happen this time.