Spring is on its way!

The last several days we've seen temperatures in the 70's.  It has been a welcome change.  While milking the cows this morning, I heard mockingbirds in the trees singing their songs.  I hadn't heard songbirds in a while. This weekend I could hear crop dusters flying in the distance which is another telltale sign of Spring.  As discussed in another post, I worked up four rows and planted 116 seed potatoes.  I have some additional seed potatoes that I need to plant, but it'll require pulling up a couple more rows.  The days are getting longer, too, which will allow me to get more done in the afternoons. Sunset today is at 6:01 pm, but by the end of the month, it will be 6:09 pm. Longer days and warmer weather will dry out the water-logged soil and enable me to plant the Spring crop.

That got me to thinking that I needed to do a seed inventory so that I can order some seeds to replace the that I used last year.  So last night while Benjamin and I watched the Olympics, I went and got all my seeds out of the freezer and grouped them in logical groups like melons, beans, peas, corn, squash, okra, herbs, etc.  I made a list of the seeds that I have in stock on a legal pad.

Grouping seeds together and getting organized

Then I pulled out my planting guide from last Spring that shows, row by row, what I planted and when I planted it.  My planting guide shows all 35 of my 30 foot rows and what is planted where.  I compared the two lists (inventory against planting guide) to determine what I needed to order.  I like Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I went to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds at www.rareseeds.com and placed an order. They'll come in the mail in time for planting.  The other reason I look at my planting guide is to help me determine where in the garden to plant items this year as I don't want to plant the same crop in the same location.  Rotating planting locations helps give the soil a rest and allows the soil to build up nutrients pulled out of the ground by the crop.

Looking at my planting guide from Spring 2013

Some of my seeds are left over from the 2009 crop packing year, but I still experience good germination on them, so I keep using them.  You'll notice that I only inventoried my purchased seed last night.  I have a big drawer that is absolutely filled with supplement bottles full of seeds that I save.  I'll use those seeds in addition to purchased seed.  Each year I try to save as many seeds as I can.  I have another inventory list of those seeds.  I'm finding that I have to purchase fewer and fewer seeds each year.  This year my total seed purchase was $17.50 and that included shipping.

Seeds on carpet that will soon be in the dirt

Making a list of all my seeds does another thing besides providing an inventory and determining what I need to order to be prepared for Spring Planting - it helps me begin thinking about how to organize the garden.  I have so many seeds and each year I'm tempted to enlarge the size of the garden.  I've found that the size of the garden and the time it takes to maintain and properly care for it is at odds with a person (me) who has turned another year older since last Spring's Garden was put in.  A man's got to know his limitations.

So I've decided to operate on the same standard operating procedure that our Government does.  I won't reduce the size of my garden, I'll just increase the size of it at rate that is a little slower than the garden's growth rate in the past and call it a cut. (Smile!)

Making a list and checking it twice

While watching the Jamaican bobsled team go down the run, I got out my LSU AgCenter Louisiana Vegetable Planting Guide.  It can be found here.  It is a really good planning tool that I use to help me with seed spacing, depth, and planting times. After looking at it, I really got the fever to go out and play in the dirt!

Louisiana Vegetable Planting Guide from LSU AgCenter

I have notes in the margins and things highlighted to help me improve the garden each year and I look over it to refresh my memory of things I want to change.  One thing that I'm definitely finding is that I want to be planting at the very earliest dates for the Fall Garden.  To try and beat the heat and bug pressure, I want to do the same with the Spring garden as well, but it is a little dangerous to do that.

Just to be on the safe side, I researched the average last frost date for my zip code and it is February 21 - 28th.  It won't be long now until I knock the rust off of my garden hoe...