Summary

The article "Strawberry Is My Jam" provides a comprehensive guide for both novice and experienced gardeners to start their gardening journey immediately, emphasizing the importance of planning, tool inventory, and early plant selection.

Abstract

The author of "Strawberry Is My Jam" shares their extensive gardening experience, emphasizing that gardening can be a year-round activity, even in cold or snowy conditions. The article outlines a three-step approach to kickstart gardening: first, creating a detailed garden plan that includes seating, paths, and the purpose of each garden section; second, conducting an inventory of gardening tools and ensuring they are in good condition; and third, selecting and purchasing seeds or seedlings early, with a focus on plants that can handle frost. The author also touches on the possibility of integrating chickens into the garden plan, suggesting that now is the time to prepare for their arrival. The article concludes by encouraging readers to finalize their garden layout with the chosen plants and to start planting as soon as the weather permits.

Opinions

The author believes that planning a garden is as crucial as the physical efforts involved in gardening.
They suggest that a garden should be a multifunctional space, catering to relaxation, vegetable growing, and even keeping chickens, although these activities may require careful planning to be compatible.
The author values privacy and the sensory experience in garden design, recommending the inclusion of scented plants and consideration of views and neighbor proximity.
They share a personal anecdote about chickens, humorously noting that while chickens were included in their garden plan one year, they were quickly removed the next due to their intrusive behavior.
The author advises on the importance of having the right tools for the job, recommending that tools should be maintained and ready for use when needed.
They advocate for starting seeds indoors for certain plants like lettuce and spinach, while suggesting that others, like strawberries, are best planted as seedlings due to their frost tolerance.
The article conveys the author's enthusiasm for the upcoming gardening season and encourages readers to embrace the planning process as a creative and enjoyable part of gardening.

Strawberry Is My Jam

Three things you can do to start gardening right now

Delicious strawberries, coming soon to a garden near you. Photo by Author

I’ve been gardening for more than 50 years. When the pandemic hit, I found that gardening became even more important for my health and well-being. Every year at around this time, I am ready to start gardening again. Today is a good day for you to start as well, regardless of where you live.

When it is cold and dreary out, or even when your garden is covered in snow, there are things to be done. Gardening is a year-round activity, even if some of that time is spent planning. In fact, I have always found planning your garden is every bit as important as any other effort you might make. Below are some things I do every year that you can do right now to start your garden today, even if you have never gardened before.

Get started today with a plan.

Regardless of whether this is a brand new garden or an existing plot where you’ve been growing things for years, start by deciding what you are hoping to do in your garden this year. Do you want to spend time relaxing out there? Do you want to grow all of your own vegetables? Do you want chickens? Those are all perfectly reasonable goals for your garden, but they are not necessarily mutually compatible.

Take out pencil and paper and sketch the garden area. Include seating and garden paths. Do this even if you already have a garden, because if you want to change anything at all, you need to know where you are starting.

Identify the primary areas of your garden and the role of each section. If you want to spend time sitting or lounging out there, make sure to determine where that will be and how much space you will want available around you. I love to sit in my garden and read or bring out my notebook and write. It’s important to make sure that there’s a good spot for a bench or a lounge chair if you would like to do the same. Check out your view from that spot and adjust (either the location or the view) as needed. You might also want to consider the amount of privacy you will have in that space and even the scents of the plants around you.

The idea of sunbathing surrounded by plants can be very appealing, but not if the neighbors are staring at you while you sneeze because of the flowers growing nearby or if the chickens are pecking at your toes while you snooze.

Yes, I have had chickens, and yes, they pecked at my toes. They made it into my plan around five years ago and made it right back out the next year.

A final thing to consider at this point is whether or not you have enough growing area available. If not, you might want to purchase some large planters and put them into your sketch. Also, think about the size of the paths because you want to make sure the paths are wide enough to walk through even after the plants are full-sized. You also should consider if you will want to be able to move a wheelbarrow through the paths. Speaking of wheelbarrows…

Don’t count your chickens, but do count your tools.

Once you’ve identified any changes you want to make to the garden, it is time to take inventory of your garden equipment and identify any items that need to be repaired or replaced. Do you have everything you need? Does the wheelbarrow need a new wheel? Are there enough hand tools to share if your friends want to help?

Make sure that if you are planning to dig new beds or paths, your shovels and rakes are in good shape. Sharpening your shovel now will save your back later. You also want to make sure you have hand tools for planting and a scoop of some sort for placing fertilizer or mulch around plants.

Time to start shopping

If you plan to start your plants from seeds, buy them now. Your local hardware store and even supermarket may be carrying seed packets by now. If not, there are plenty of reputable sources online for seeds. I’ve often purchased from www.burpee.com and www.gurneys.com. (These are not affiliate links. They are just companies that I've used many times in the past.)

Some of the types of things that are easy to grow from seed, and can be started before the last frost, include lettuce, spinach, radishes, and onion sets. You will also be able to plant beets and swiss chard from seed early in the season. Start seeds for brassicas, such as broccoli and cabbage, in the greenhouse or cold frame, or buy seedlings from a nursery. They can take a light frost, so they can still be planted soon. Plants that need to wait until after your last frost date include tomatoes and peppers.

Oh, and strawberries can handle frost and are best planted as seedlings!

If you decided in the planning stage that you want chickens, this is also the time to go to your local farm supply store and find out when the baby chicks will arrive. It’s also time to figure out where their coop will be and quite a few other decisions beyond the scope of this article! I’ll make sure to write about them another time soon.

Back to the drawing board one more time.

Now that you have your plants selected go back to your plan and finalize where you will plant the things you’ve selected. At this point, you have a solid plan for how you want to use your garden, what you want to plant, where you want to plant it.

Now all you need to do is wait for a sunny day and use all that planning to start digging and planting.