A Garden for Gathering: The Plan

Every detail of this year's garden plan, from the veg I am growing to the mushroom patch I am hoping springs up

Oh I have been so excited to dig into writing this post (pun very much intended:) Getting ready for this growing season started with reflection of last year’s space, then a consideration of my garden design, and now getting into the details of what I will grow.

Every year I make a map of what I will plant - you can see this below. I also use larger areas of color and layered colors to show where items will be planted around others, or where a spring planting may take place. I will break down each garden bed, linking to all of my trellises, archways and seeds in this newsletter. It is a big post–grab yourself a cup of coffee and tuck in.

Morel Manor & Wine Cap Country

I couldn’t help but name the mushroom inoculation sections of the garden something just a bit extra! I am testing out two different inoculated mushrooms to see if either grows. I used the Organic Wine Cap Mushroom Sawdust Spawn from NorthSpore around my blueberries. I added the mushrooms spores last spring, and am hoping to see our first crop of mushroom this spring.

My morel patch is a bit more of a gamble. Dear friends of ours have an insane morel patch–they come up all over their front yard, even pushing their way through sidewalk cracks–it’s crazy. They shared their harvest with us and I did a bit of research on how to create a morel slurry to inoculate our own property. It turns out they like apple trees, and our gardens are right next to our three apple trees. Fingers crossed this little experiment works and we see Morel Manor fill with happy residents.

The Blueberry Patch

This beautiful section was such a fun find when we moved into this home last year. The previous owners had neglected the garden space for some time, and much of it was overgrown with tall grasses. I began ripping out the grasses and to my delight, I found three beautiful blueberry bushes. I added the other two Jellybean Blueberry bushes from my previous home, and now have a sweet little cove of blueberries. The plants I transplanted produced abundantly this year, and the existing blueberries produced some, but definitely needed a cutting back. I have trimmed them back this winter, and am hoping for a more fruitful season this summer.

Ground Cherries & Sweet Corn

The last two crops growing in the back half of the garden are my son Arlo’s picks. We grew ground cherries and corn last year, and he greatly enjoyed heading to the garden every morning to check on his plants and snack on the sweet ground cherries. He would tell anyone who would listen that he was growing ground cherries - it was the sweetest thing. A single ground cherry plant produces at least 200 berries, making it a perfect small space crop. I have an old wash basin being used as a planter here, and will plan to plant ground cherries here each season. They are not perennials, but they do drop seeds each year and come back similar to weeds. I anticipate a few patches of them coming up throughout the garden.

The sweet corn is a short stalk variety called Casino, only growing 4-5 feet tall. They produce several super sweet ears each, and they are so fun to grow. We only grow a single row - really only enough for one meal, but well worth the joy of teaching him how to pollinate and tend to his corn, and enjoy a well salted and buttered harvest.

Pumpkin & Bean Arch

This section of the garden was a highlight last year. Pumpkins and butternuts hung from the Cattle Panel Arch with their beautiful leaves filling in the top - it was truly a beauty. This year I added two raised beds to the ends of each arch. Planting into raised beds will allow for higher yields, and will keep out the voles.

I am planning to plant snap peas and shelling peas in the planters in mid April, and then replant with four different varieties of winter squashes–Butternut, Moranga, and Kabocha–one at each of the four corners of the arch, and plant between them with lima beans and tri-color pole beans come June. In the corners of the raised beds I will add nasturtiums, and may add in a climbing sweet pea seeds I got from a friend for more floral and color in the arch. I cannot wait to experience this archway through every season this summer.

Beets, Tomatoes & Cucumber Bed

This bed will include three different varieties of tomatoes - Beefsteak, Rosso, and Crimson Carmello. I love to grow a mix of reds that have different shapes and textures, for beauty and flavor. In the early spring I will plant beets around where each tomato plant will go, as they will help tomatoes grow by holding moisture in the soil. Beets grow beautifully in the shade of tomato plants in the heat of summer as well. I like the grow a mix of Golden and regular beets.

Next to the tomatoes, I am planning to grow cucumbers on an A frame trellis. I love to grow small, tender skinned cucumbers, like Persian baby cucumbers, as they are delicious fresh or pickled. In the spring I will plant lettuces and spinach below the trellis, so as the cucumbers grow they will shade the tender greens, allowing me to grow lettuce for a bit longer in the summer (hello BLTs). I am growing one head lettuce this year, De Russie lettuce and my preferred spinach is Gangbusters.

Zucchini, Cherry Tomato & Eggplant Bed

At the beginning of March I got together with some dear friends and had a seed starting party. It was so fun looking through each other’s seed collections, and the one variety we were all so excited to try was from my friend Kristan–a Climbing Zucchini variety. You heard that right! I am so excited to give it a try, and actually completely re-designed my garden plan around this new seed variety. These climbing wonders will grow alongside Yard Long Beans on a second archway. This archway has garden bed under it, so between the two arches I will plant a row of Celery, as it grows all spring and summer and grows well in shade.

On the other side of the archway I am going to try something totally new to me–trellising cherry tomatoes. I have chosen to grow all Sungolds, and I am so excited to see this stunning arch in action.

On the other end of the bed, I will plant two varieties of eggplant–Rosa Bianca and Listada De Gandia, and Shishitto peppers. In the spring I plan to plant Cut and Come Again Lettuce and Arugula.

Strawberry Patch

This was another wonderful find when we moved in, a whole 4’ x 8’ bed filled to the brim with strawberries. We did restart this bed this year, digging up and transplanting the strongest crowns into a new bed of dirt. I am hoping we get to experience a full season this June of homegrown strawberry picking.

Carrots & Garlic Bed

I planted half of this bed this past winter with garlic, and will fill the other half with Danvers, Sunshine Mix, and Kuroda carrots. I have found these to be the best varieties to grow the largest and most delicious carrots in my garden. The yellow in the sunshine mix get absolutely mammoth, and I love digging them out of the garden on Christmas. Once I harvest the garlic I will replant the center of this section with a Crookneck Summer Squash. This will be my first time growing these, we love buying them at markets and are excited to have them in our own garden.

Garlic, Peppers & Shallots Bed

My winter planted garlic is taking up a small portion of this bed, and will be replaced with multiple varieties of peppers - Golden Cal, and Heirloom Italian Sweet Peppers. These will both be new to my garden, and I am excited to try them out. I will plant the end with Shallots, as they are my favorite allium to grow and for some reason voles don’t steal them (every other allium I tried to grow, they steal-ugh).

Cabbage & Kale Bed

I love the look of a cabbage, its full and ruffled leaves pouring from a garden bed. I am starting seeds for both Cone Head Cabbage and Savoy, we will see which ends up in this prized spot. In the early spring I will plant this area with French Breakfast Radishes before the cabbage gets big. I may tuck a cabbage or two elsewhere in the garden–even when I have every bit planned, I still try and tuck just one more thing in:)

Between the cabbage and kale will be shallots to help keep pests at bay for both, and then I grow Lacinato Kale, as it is the most delicious kale both raw and cooked.

Florals

I am adding in some additional florals this year, to bring some pollinators and color to the garden space. I am planting the entry arch with Climbing Black-Eyed Susans. I am excited to see this space fully covered in vibrant floral.

Along the left side, I will plant Short Stuff Sunflowers and a mix of Zinnias. I will also be tucking Nasturtiums into the corner of beds throughout the garden.

Asparagus

This was also an incredible find when we moved in - we have several very thick patches of asparagus throughout the garden. I absolutely love having it grow in the garden space, one of my all-time favorite spring vegetables.

As spring inches closer, I hope this inspired you to get planning. Please reach out any time with garden questions, I would love to help plan a space with you.