Well its official, spring fever has set in. I've been sort of bouncing around ideas in my head for the direction that I want to try and set for the garden this year, but after finally getting down a few ideas on paper last night, and then getting a start at entering them in on the GRIT magazine food garden planner, well like I said it's official spring fever has sprung in me.
This year we've decided that we want to try a little bit of a departure from the purely kitchen garden direction that we've always taken, and focus at least a part of the garden towards growing for the local farmers market. it's not that we're going to make a business out of the garden (at least not at this point...), it's really more of a toe-dip into the market growing world. We love going to farmers markets, but quite honestly have been pretty disappointed with the ones up in our neck of the woods. It always seems like all the growers that we see there all have essentially the same stuff; peppers, tomatoes, cukes and zucchinis. we want to have those staple items of course, but there are so many more great veggies that can be provided, we feel like a small grower like us, doing it only for fun, might be able to bring some to the table and shake things up a little. Worst case scenario we spend a morning outdoors and don't sell a thing... we'll just bring it home and eat it ourselves. Either that or open a front yard farm stand like I've seen done before.
Another idea that we've been toying around with its that of getting a plot at our new local community garden. What we're thinking is that we could use that piece of ground to grow crops that take up a lot more ground than others, or that we'd like to grow more of. For instance potatoes, squash, pickling cucumbers or melons.
Things will start going pretty fast here soon. I reviewed my garden journals from the last couple of years this afternoon and can tell that seeds will start going into starter trays here in the next couple weeks. And that’s not even counting the work we’re hoping to get done in the yard before spring. I’ll do my best to keep you aware of how things are going.
Anyone have any experience with growing for a market garden and want to pass on some suggestions. I’d love to hear them.
Till next time.
P~