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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Planning

I'm usually a pretty good planner, but for some reason I've found it hard to catch my groove when planning my gardens.  I've always just referenced various planting schedules and planted seeds like crazy.  Then when things come up, I sometimes have too much and other time not enough.  I never think about companion planting and I never have enough flowers in my garden (to attract beneficial insects).  I'm hoping to get better about all of this. 

Some reading for the weekend.  We got lucky at the library.

Here's a glimpse at one of my first gardens at our old house. 
Some success with that first garden.

Not much planning went into this. I grew some good weeds.



For the Phoenix area, here are the two planting schedules that I reference:



Here is a great article about finding regional planting advice from the AZ Plant Lady. 

Doug and I are talking about creating a plan for the whole yard (including fruit trees and the necessary irrigation) and then developing a plan for phasing it all. 

Hoping this little guy will come in handy.

I'm hoping to start all of this researching and planning sooner rather than later, as March is quickly approaching and it will be time to plant some of my favorite vegetables (i.e. squashes, beans, corn....).  However, I might have to have one more willy-nilly season.  We'll see.....

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6 comments:

  1. My uncle recently had the good fortune of meeting a master gardener who was taking a permaculture course. She asked him if she could use his 1.7 acres to create a plan for the next 10 years, then drew an amazing map of what the property would look like. He got recommendations based on their own wishes (and a map), and she got her certificate! A great deal for both!

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    1. That is amazing luck and a great opportunity for both parties! Thanks for sharing. I'll be on the look out for a master gardener now :)

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  2. I love Arizona so it was nice to find another garden blog in that location. I follow a number of postings out your way. Here on the shores of Lake Michigan the climate is so very different. This time of year, I wish I was in your zone and warmer! Hope to see what you are all up to in my next visit. Jack

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! Yes... the weather this time of year is absolutely gorgeous. You can't beat it. The garden is the best place to be!

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  3. We just finished planting our first fruit trees here. It's the perfect time of year for bareroot planting. In another couple weeks we'll be putting in the citrus. Our gardening is integrated with our landscaping (in order to not offend the neighbors) and it's made for some interesting challenges. This year I put in a ton of pansies that ring the gardens and gladiolus bulbs interspersed here and there with the veggies and the strawberries.

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    1. Sounds great! I so look forward to the day we can start putting in fruit trees, especially citrus. The lot that our new house is on is a completely blank slate. Save one big tree in the front yard, there is nothing planted and seems to really have never had anything planted on it (strange, since the house was built in 1935). I'm just so glad that no one infected the yard with bermuda grass at any point over all of the years. I'm also lucky that there really is no chance of offending our neighbors where we live (no HOA, wahoo!), so our front yard is just going to be rows of ingrown vegetable beds.

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