Each week, this newsletter will contain three sections:
How things are going
I will share an update on my garden as a point of reference for how my weekly tasks are adding up and looking.
What to do this week
Here I will present the 3 - 5 things I am planning or doing this week.
Resources
A deeper dive into information and perspectives that are inspiring or informing my gardening.
If you are coming to this newsletter mid-season, please take a look at the posts from the past few weeks to get a sense of context for where we are at this week!
How things are going:
Though this week is ending with cold and snow, I was happy to see green leaves through the plastic covering my beds. I’m still optimistic that those greens and garlic are going to make it through this winter.
I’m also happy to report that the first of my pepper seedlings have sprouted. The serrano pepper seedlings are starting to poke through the soil.
It has been 13 days since I sowed these seeds. Last winter it took some of my pepper seedlings over a month to germinate, so I am glad to see much faster progress. I think this is because I’ve moved the seedling tray to a warmer part of the house. Hopefully I will see the other seeds germinating soon.
One challenge I am faced with, however, is that my grow lights are all in the basements, and I don’t have an easy way to move them with the seed trays to a warmer part of the house. Currently, I am moving the trays from an east facing window to a south facing window to track the sun. This is working for now, but not ideal. I hope that the remaining seedlings sprout soon, and I will move them back into the basement under the grow lights.
I’ve started to sow some of the other plants I’ll need for early spring, kale and lettuce. I have ordered some radicchio seeds, but they haven’t arrived yet. As soon as I have the seeds, I’ll sow those as well.
This guide from Colorado State provides information about the conditions that seeds need to germinate and grow, and it breaks down these data into cool and warm season sections. Because of these temperature needs, I typically think about growing vegetables on the front range in three chunks of time.
March - May
May - September
October - Overwinter
I can grow, harvest, and replant different vegetables within each of these three chunks of time.
I’m working on my plan for the garden across these three planting windows. To do this, I am building out my garden maps and using them as a guide for thinking about how many plants I will need to fill the beds and when I should start sowing the seeds so they are ready to follow up my spring vegetables.
I definitely think succession planting is one of the more difficult aspects of gardening. Continuing to stay on top of starting more seedlings after my beds are fully planted, and caring for those seedlings and my beds, and ensuring that the beds are harvested to make room for the new seedlings, requires a decent amount of attention and planning. However, having maps, sowing schedules, and a system for growing seedlings definitely helps.
As you think about your hopes for the coming season, it’s worth thinking about how you might try to do some succession planning and planting. One advantage of making your plan now, is that you can order seeds for your spring planting and summer succession planting at the same time. Having seeds ready eliminates a potential friction point that might delay or prevent you from trying out succession planting in the summer.
Gardening, like most practices, really benefits from making small, proactive steps that reduce tasks from piling up, making it easy to make the decision to act, and try out something new.
What to do this week:
Here’s what to do:
Another snowy couple of days is perfect for continuing to work on your gardening goals for the year, maps, and seedling sowing plans. Consider adding onto this by accounting for a succession of crops to follow your spring plantings.
As your plans become more concrete, now is a great time to start ordering the seeds you’ll need for the year. The more detailed your maps, the more confident you can be that your seed orders will be adequate for your planting needs.
Next week:
Seedling updates
Season extension strategies for early March planting
Resources:
Resource 1
I’m watching this video to get some inspiration. It also provides some guidance on what is worth making a succession plan for, and what is not.
I am still a relatively new gardener and often find myself overwhelmed throughout the growing season - then I end up just planting tomatoes (which I plant at the wrong time and they ripen when I’m away during the summer… because of course they do) and herbs. This series is not only informative but helpful for me as I think about the little things I could be doing now to have more success this year. Thanks!