Garden PARTY!!

So, why I am I calling it a Garden PARTY instead of a Garden Meeting this year? 

It's because we (and our garden) have reason to celebrate.  We usually have our garden planned much earlier than this, but this year we had to wait to see what Jamey's plans were.  You see (now I can finally tell you!), he graduates in May (after four years with no job).  He had applied for two jobs.  One was a hospital pharmacy residency which is a year long, intensive training program that can be grueling in terms of the hours required.  There is a stipend given, enough for us to live on, but no promise of a job after ward.  It just gives you better odds of scoring a hospital pharmacy job.

Are you still with me or are you drooling over the asparagus picture?

The other job he applied for was a hospital pharmacy position that happened to open up this winter.  Last week, he was offered the hospital position!  Hallelujah! We are simply overcome with thanksgiving.

The reason our garden is celebrating is because if he would have been offered and taken the residency, we would have had to majorly scale back our plans because he would have been unavailable at key points in the season.  He does most of the garden work and there was no way I would be able to take it all on myself in addition to all my other responsibilities around here.

So!  Now we plan!!  Last year was so dry, we're psyched for a chance at a spring and summer with enough rain.  Here are my meeting's notes.  Jamey does his own notes based on row length, number of plants to plant/start, etc.

Our Perennials

red raspberries- bushes need pruning soon, transplant new shoots to make another row this spring (where will be the tricky part), freeze and make jam
asparagus- bed was cleared, fertilized and mulched late fall, eat fresh and swoon.
strawberries- our previous bed aged out (5 years), so new plants were started last year, don't expect much of a crop (boo), eat fresh, make jam if lucky
sour cherries- freeze instead of canning (works better in baking)
pears- eat fresh
peaches- eat fresh, make jam
apple trees- not yet bearing
rhubarb- use fresh in baking

Plant this Year

onions- planted this past week, for tomato sauce and storing
spinach- spring crop planted this past week, for eating fresh and freezing
lettuce- spring crop planted this past week, for eating fresh (swoon)
snow peas- plant more, mostly for eating fresh, some to freeze
garden peas- plant the same amount, eat some fresh, mostly freeze
spinach- more, for eating fresh and freezing
Swiss chard- same, for eating fresh and freezing
zucchini- more, for eating and making and freezing zucchini bread for the winter (I skipped this last year and we missed it).
red and green bell peppers- plant more, for eating fresh, freezing and using in tomato sauce
garlic- already planted in fall, for sauce and storing (braiding)
roma and slicing tomatoes- more!  for eating fresh, tomato soup, stewed tomatoes and LOTS more sauce (90 pints is NOT enough)
green beans- same, for eating, mostly freezing
potatoes- less
butternut squash- more, for storing
basil- less (15 foot row instead of 30 foot row), for sauce, eating and pesto (still have lots in freezer)
parsley- same, for eating and tomato sauce
corn- less, for eating only, buy local for freezing (we don't have the best of luck with corn)
carrots- same, for eating and tomato sauce (don't attempt to store)
watermelon- same
cantaloupe- more
beets- more, for beet hummus only, we still have plenty pickled
cucumbers- same, for eating
sweet potatoes- less
sunflowers- same, seeds for chickens during the winter
oregano- same, for eating and tomato sauce
broccoli- same
stevia- decide after I (hopefully) experiment with recipes during Lent

Buy Local

nectarines- for canning (they worked great, stayed great and are so much easier to work with/can than peaches)
blueberries- freeze
peaches- make jam, if our trees don't produce enough
apples- for eating and more for saucing (180 quarts seems a little short)
corn- for freezing
broccoli- if ours fail, for freezing

And, we're OFF!