Cyn Cady
Yeah , yeah , I sleep with : It ’s really planning the fall garden , but here in Happy Hippie Land — also known by some as “ Northern California with marine influence ” or “ Zone 9b”—there ’s lots of stuff that will acquire all through the wintertime , my dear curly - leaf kale to name just one . Because coke and serious freezing weather condition do n’t affect me , this intend I ’ve got lots of pick . So here I posture , class seed packets and deciding which plant will play nice with others , figuring out how much of what I require , and trying to guess what the sun will be doing a couple of calendar month from now .
I really design theFortress Gardenfor summertime crop , with raised beds aim strategically to leverage areas of full Dominicus , cockcrow Dominicus only , afternoon sun and mottle shadowiness ( perfect for wampum ) . But in winter , that prosperous old sun drops pretty close to the big Benny Hill behind the house , and the slant of light changes dramatically , meaning some boxes get more sun and some get much less .
The temptation to just hurl handful of fava bean seed into each empty lift box and go back to bed is huge , but my kale habituation wo n’t allow me to quit . Although I have to say , old Hannibal Lecter was right : Fava beansarea delicious side dish , as well as a great cover crop .
But I digress . So here I am sorting my seed packets by laying them out on the coffee mesa in the rough configuration of my raised beds , checking the appointment . ( I do n’t give nearly as much attention to the departure engagement on seeds as I do with Milk River , but if they ’re more than two years out , I will plausibly chuck ‘ em ) .
I ’ve get a caboodle of seed packets , but there are still some things I need to get , so I made slight card to act as outdoor stage - ins for coriander , lettuce and peas . Even though I wo n’t be imbed onions until January , I still require to book place , so they get a place card , too . It ’s like plan a wedding except without the hysteric or the volaille a l’orange buffet .
sorrow from last twelvemonth — not engraft enough spinach plant , allowing the aphids to attack my crucifers , et cetera — I note in my tickler file . A “ tickler file file ” is not where I keep my ideas for young and more effective ways to vellicate people , as you might imagine , but rather a curing of envelopes with the season on them so I can organise my seeds and notes . Not very high tech , but effective .
There are also freight of planting guides online , likethis keen one , but I ’ve found that there are minor mood difference of opinion even within geographical zone and other considerations , like land and Lord’s Day path , that mess up my vegetable seat chart . For representative , my acquaintance Barb The Awesome Gardener be in the sameUSDA zonejust a few miles inland and a couple hundred feet closer to sea level than I do , but her crop seem to ripen much in the beginning than mine . She ’s crunch on Caprese salad week before my tomatoes are cheeseparing to ripe . So I keep my own calendar and depend online for reference as needed .
And yes , I will be making some outer space in each bed for fava beans . It will give me an alibi to pick up a couple bottles of a nice Chianti .
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