AlexH

Now that winter has arrived, I’m starting to think about how I can improve the garden for next year.

Time: One thing was simply the date I got started. I didn’t buy the SFG book until after my first frost date, so I didn’t get things in the ground early enough. Next year, lettuce and other leafy plants will get started in January, so they are ready to go when the danger of frost is gone. I’m just starting to harvest the lettuce now, but I could have moved that date back another month if I was better prepared.

Plants that get direct seeded will be started earlier as well. It means that I will have to pay more attention to the weather and soil temperature, but now that I have the basics figured out, I’m confident that I’ll be able to handle the extra complications next year.
Late planting also has a ripple effect for succession planting. I have a square that is still full of tiny carrots when I was planning on putting beans in soon. That in turn will effect when I can replant it for the fall.

Staggering: I also need to get better at staggered planting. I planted two squares of radishes all at once, when I should have spaced them out with once a week planting a half square at a time. Same goes for the onions

Soil: This year I didn’t have much compost so I think that affected yields. It seemed like the maturity times are much longer that what was written on the seed packets. For example my radishes took about 50 days to harvest, when the package says 30-40.