Up and Growing

Good news - my pea shoots are up. 

What pea shoots?  I thought you said you were writing about garden planning.

Well, I am . . .but the best planning happens when your brain is hopped up on high nutrient sprouts and shoots.

Mike, the girls and I were a part of a research project together that worked on environmental goals. When the project finished, the group decided to keep in touch via a blog. Mike decided to get the group started with a post on how to sprout your own seeds.  While he was doing alfalfa, I figured he might as well start my peas shoots.  Since he was starting my pea shoots, we needed my grow table, and since we had the grow table out, I figured I needed to be growing lettuce and starting basil as well. 

Now everything is sprouting except the basil, and Mike did a nifty calculation to show that it wasn't even too costly for electricity.

While Mike has been blogging and sprouting, I have been planning my garden.  I looked closely at my plan from last year and started to plot.

I measure out everything on graph paper and choose where each plant will go.  Then I record how many plants will fit in each square foot. Lots of people don't realize you can fit 16 lettuce plants in this small space, or one tomato if your grow it up a trellis.  I also grow 16 beans or peas in a similar space.  Square foot gardening gives me high yields as long as I have lots of compost.

I read over what I learned from my last gardening year on my blog and made sure my plans used that learning.  Then I sprung my plan on Mike during our 6:30 am breakfast (It is always best to spring your plan on your husband after he's been hauling heavy tables and dirt in and out of the house in -40).  Needless to say, he was delighted.

Today when I got home he was over it, and invited me downstairs.  Good news, the plants are up, and I can picture each item I have planned up and growing like my sprouts are.