Thanks!

Leeks are in the onion family,and grow best in cool weather. It’s best to start seeds indoors 12 weeks before the frost date, and then transplant them outside 6 weeks before.

Leeks grow best in a rich soil, so add lots of compost and fertilize (either chemically or organically) once or twice during the season.

Most leeks take 3 to 4 months to grow to maturity. Harvest when the stalks are about 1″ diameter.

More Leeks Resource:

• Leek Reference Sheet (Utah Extension Service)
• Leek Reference Sheet (Minnesota Extension Service)

Choosing what to plant together for the happiest, healthiest garden is called “companion planting.” Companion planting is the practice of growing plants next to each other for mutual benefit.

This can happen because a companion attracts beneficial or repels harmful insects, or because the natural chemicals found in or produced by a plant improve flavor or growth.

I have scoured the web for lists of what each vegetable likes and dislikes, put it all into a spreadsheet, and here you go! Two simple tools to help you when planning your garden.

If you have Excel, you can use the companion planting tool:

• Download the file here, be sure to SAVE AS, don’t just open.
• The yellow, green, and blue fields are drop down lists.

Example with a single vegetable

• To find a good vegetable to plant next to Peas, click on the yellow field and select Peas.
• The list will show which vegetables are bad, which are good, and which are the best–these are particularly beneficial.

Example with multiple vegetables

• To find a good vegetable to plant between Beans and Onions, click on the green field to select Beans, and the blue field to select Onions.
• The list shows which vegetables are bad, good, better, and best. The vegetables in the Best column are beneficial to both!

For those without Excel, I have put a table in PDF format:

• Download the file here.
• Look in the top row for the vegetable you are interested in.
• The column of vegetables underneath is color coded.
• Red is bad, yellow is good, green is best

Try it out and let me know how it works for you!

Happy gardening!

Here is version 1:

My comments:
The first concern I had was the corn. In order to pollinate, it needs to be at least 3 rows deep. I would suggest planting it 3×10 instead of 1×30.

Next is squash and pumpkins. I suggest keeping it all together and give it LOTS of room. It tends to overtake everything at some point. You can consider planting it next to early spring veggies (like broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, or peas). Squash is planted late, and by the time it gets big you will have harvested the others. Also, squash will grow particularly well near corn or onions. I have had limited success using a trellis with winter squash and pumpkins. They are so prickly and big! But I find watermelon much easier to trellis.

I see this plan has 16 squares of lettuce (with 4 plants per square). That is A TON of lettuce! It grows quite quickly, so you could cut that space in half and still have plenty. For my family of 4 I grow about 4 squares at a time (that’s 16 plants), staggered. I plant each square every 2 weeks or so. That way I am harvesting 2 squares at a time.

Garlic is planted in the fall and by spring it is tall and in the way. If you don’t have access to the garden on both sides it will make it hard to work with your broccoli and cilantro.

Finally, do you have access to your peas from the back side of the garden? I might plant and support them the other direction.

Sandra’s response:
I did get a comment from someone else about the corn and have been thinking about redoing that. I was planning on planting the lettuce every couple of weeks, but I have to rethink that also, I remember how hot it got last summer and it did not do so well and would be growing to late in the season.

I can access the peas from the back. I plan on leaving three feet between the fence and the garden for easy access.

Last summer I used doors to make my boxes and left them at the six foot length so that the boxes were 6′ by 6′ and found that it was very difficult to get to anything in the middle. We rent our home so I don’t want to invest to much money so was thinking for this year to use cinder blocks which I could take with me when we move.

Me:
So smart to go smaller–you could just cut some of your doors in half for the 3′ sections. Cinder blocks would work well, but they’ll be heavy to move. I’m sure whatever you use will work fine! I built a friend’s with wood and it turned out fantastic. You could still build your shape, but do it in sections that would be easier to move (3×6).

If you have a shady spot or a place to plant the lettuce near some tall veggies it will do fine in the summer. One year I hung eyelet fabric off my trellis and covered the lettuce in the afternoons. It grew just fine. So well I had more lettuce than I needed!

Final version of Sandra’s square foot garden plan:

You can see she added directions (North/South), which is helpful to consider. Also, it looks like she’s planning to have separate garden beds, each 3×6. Maybe she can recycle those old doors again! The lettuce is going to LOVE growing next to the corn, since it will get tons of sun all day long, but be shaded in the hot afternoon.

This new garden plan looks great! Hopefully Sandra will send us some pictures mid-summer, so we can see how it looks with plants growing.

If you want some feedback on your garden plan, email me at mysquarefootgarden@gmail.com!

Happy gardening!
Emily

You will all continue to enjoy the newsletter for FREE thanks to my husband. He subscribes to a service and has offered to let me piggy-back at a fraction of the full cost. The best way to show your appreciation is to visit his website at www.gettingfinancesdone.com. He will be submitting guests posts there every now and again and I’ll be adding him as a sponsor on the sidebar. Finally, I may highlight him in the newsletter on occasion.

The only catch is, I will need everyone to resubscribe. This new service is very good about protecting people from spam, so it requires double verification. You first submit a request, then verify by clicking on an email you receive. It’s pretty standard practice for newsletters and memberships.

In the immediate future the newsletters will look much the same, but once I have everything set up it will allow me to spend more time making fun improvements. I can’t wait! It sure beats copying and pasting everyone into a spreadsheet and manually sending out 6 emails every week!

So please visit the website and subscribe–you will find the form on the right sidebar of my webpage.

Thanks so much. I look forward to getting going for the seasion!

Happy gardening!
Emily

PS Red and Orange groups, I apologize. I realize I’m already behind! I promise to get things moving this week!

Can you believe it’s time to start your garden for 2010? Okay, it’s not time for ALL of you, but those with early frost dates (Red group) should be planning, starting seeds, etc. As I look outside at snow that hasn’t melted in weeks and check the thermometer (it’s about 27 degrees F), I can’t believe it myself! I promise, even though my gardening won’t start for a month or two, I won’t leave you Red and Orange groups on your own. I will start thinking green along with you!

There are several changes I have to make this gardening season. I hope many of you found my weekly email newsletters helpful as a reminder of when to plant what. This year I hope to add a fertilizing schedule (both organic and chemical) so your garden can be as green and prolific as possible.

The problem I’ve run into is this–I have over 500 requests for email newsletters. Thus far I have been sending these out manually (groan!), but gmail only allows me to send 500 per day. I’ve accepted the reality that I need to upgrade to a service that will automate the newsletters and allow me to send it to an unlimited number of people.

I hope you believe me that I do not run this site for money (the advertising just covers my costs), and I’m not trying to make a buck off you. But if I want to continue this service I can’t afford to absorb the cost myself. So, I’m asking for your help–please take the following survey so I can figure out if I can continue the newsletters and how much to charge. Just be honest!

Click here to take survey

On a more personal note, this is what I’ve been growing this winter:

This is baby Jacob in October. Check out how big he is today!

The good news is, he’s starting to sleep through the night, which means my brain is slowly thawing and I’ll be able to think and write coherently again!

Happy upcoming gardening!
Emily

Click here to take survey

We just adopted baby Jacob! We first heard about the situation on September 1, met the birthparents on September 5, Jacob was born on September 9, and placement was September 14. Most people get 9 months to prepare, we had just 14 days start to finish.

On top of it all, Jacob was in the NICU for 9 days, so I spent my days and nights with him until he came home.

I will be getting back to this blog–I have a lot of ideas and changes for next season. In the meantime I will post about my harvests, fall planting (just garlic!), and recipes when I have time.

Thanks for your patience!
Emily

Peas
I planted 2 squares of snow peas and 2 squares of sugar snap peas. Just like last year, I had a HUGE harvest and loved every minute of it! The peas grew well until mid-July, when the super hot temperatures hit. In all, I probably harvested 2 gallon bags full of peas. It’s hard to say, because we seemed to eat half of them straight out of the garden. I had enough to snack on, cook with, dip in ranch, and bring to a neighborhood party. The only thing I didn’t do was take a picture of them!

Broccoli
I harvested three HUGE heads of broccoli this year. I loved the variety I planted, Burpee Green Goliath. Last year the brocooli was more tender, but much smaller. As those plants take over nearly 4 squares each, it’s nice to feel like you harvested something big! I was too impatient to wait for side-shoots because the plant was taking over so much space in my garden.

This gave me plenty of broccoli for curry, stir fry, dipping in ranch, etc. I’m definitely going to plant this as part of my fall garden.

Cilantro
I had a scanty cilantro harvest. I think I will start this a lot sooner next year. It just bolts so quickly when the weather gets even a little bit hot.

I probably harvested at least twice this much, but in June. I need cilantro in August, when I’m making salsa! Perhaps I should try growing some in the shady part of my yard in a small container. I have left the plants to go to seed so I get coriander, and to see if it will grow during the fall and early spring.

Parsley
I planted two parsley plants, and it has been WAY TOO MUCH! I never believe in the spring that these tiny plants will get so huge and produce more than I can ever use.

This is just a sampling of my parsley–I probably could be harvesting 4-6 times this much. Note for next year: ONE PLANT IS ENOUGH!

Peppers
My peppers struggled all spring, I think because it was so cold and wet. Then they took off like crazy! Two things happened, and I don’t know which to credit, or if it was a combination of the two. First, I kept all my eggshells for a while, until I had at least 8 dozen. I crushed them up, put them in a 5 gallon bucket and filled it with water. I let it sit for a day, then watered my peppers with it. Second, it got really hot.

Either way, I have been harvesting peppers way sooner than I expected. Check out all these anaheims (had zero success with these last year)! I will definitely grow these again–they were Mountain Valley Seeds (a local company) Anaheim Chili.

I have TONS of japalenos as well. These have been prolific, but the peppers are very small. The package says they will grow to 3″, but mine are more like 2″. Again, it was Mountain Valley Seeds, Jalapeno. I will try another brand next year.

My bell peppers seem way behind the others. I have harvested the ones pictured, plus about 3-4 others we already ate (sorry!). I planted Burpee Kaleidoscope Mix, which seemed fun at the time, but the peppers are all quite small. Next year I will look for something that grows large bell peppers, so I have the quantity of peppers needed for salsa!

Cucumbers
I planted two types of cucumbers this year.  As you can see, the regular kind (top photo) have been FANTASTIC! They are so delicious, small seeds, and the skin is not bitter.

And of course, I have NO IDEA what they are. I planted the whole package and threw it away. I do suspect it was a hybrid. I know I spent $1.50 to $2.00 on a seed packet and planted ALL of them in 2 squares, which usually only happens when I buy more expensive hybrid varieties. I hope I can figure out what they are, because I really want to plant them again. Next year, I will just do 2 squares of these. That is PLENTY of cucumbers for our family.

I’ve decided that, though I like the idea of making pickles, it’s just not worth it. Pickling cucumbers have to be harvested at just the right time and size (which eludes me), otherwise they grow big and fat and ugly. They aren’t great to eat. I will not grow this variety again.

Tomatoes
These are the tomatoes I have harvested so far. They are just starting to ripen in quantity. I am really hoping for “more tomaotes than I know what to do with,” but I’m not very hopeful. Some of my fruit still on the vine has blossom end rot, which is caused by over- or under-watering. Next year I will put all my tomatoes on the same sprinkler line so I can control this better. Also, my tomatoes on the east side are ripening faster than the ones on the west. I think they do better with the hot-afternoon sun.

Carrots
This is about 1/3 of my carrot harvest. I planted Burpee Sweet Treat Hybrid, and they’ve been awesome. They are not very long (about 5″ at most), and it took me a while to realize they weren’t getting longer. I have loved using these in stir fry, pasta primavera (recipe coming soon!), curry, and just for snacking with dip. They are small and sweet and delicious.

Onions
I’ve harvested about half of my onions. I let them sit outside for a week, cut the tops off, then brought them inside where they continue to dry. They are STRONG! I planted yellow onions from sets (little dry onions), and next year I want to also plant red and sweet onions. Perhaps a few more as well.

Ingredients:

	1 can Coconut Milk Try not to disturb the can very much (don’t shake it!), since it separates into cream and milk. The coconut cream will be on the top, and the watery milk on the bottom. You need the cream for step 1 (see below).If you want a healthier choice, you can add 1 tsp coconut extract to 2 cups whole milk. If you do this, you may want to thicken the sauce with about 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.
	1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons Green Curry Paste Use less for milder flavor, more if you like it spicy. The brand I picture here was purchased for about $2.50 at an international foods store. You can find this in grocery stores, but you will get about 1/4 as much, but pay double. Also, in my expereince, brands carried in the grocery store are less potent, so you need to use more (more like 1 Tablespoon)
	1 Chicken Breast Cut into chunks
	2 1/2 cups Veggies I used broccoli, carrots, snow peas (all from my garden), and celery. You could also add green peppers, sweet onions, eggplant, or anything else you’ve grown!
	4 cups Jasmin Rice (cooked) You can use plain white rice, but you’ll really be missing out. I read once that you should first put the rice in a fine colander and run it under cool water until the water runs clear. I’m not sure what this does, but I always do it. Also, this probably makes more rice than you need, but I always like to have some leftover for rice pudding.
Step 1–Heat about 1/2 cup coconut cream (the creamy top layer when you open the can) in a large skillet. Add curry paste, and mix thoroughly. Bring to a simmer.
Step 2–Add chicken and the rest of the coconut milk. Cook until the bottom of teh chicken is barely cooked and white, about 2 minutes. Flip it over, and cook another 2 minutes. The chicken will be cooking along with the veggies later, so you don’t want it fully cooked at this stage.
Step 3–Add veggies. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until veggies are barely cooked, still firm with bright colors.
Step 4–Serve over rice.

After 8 months of growing, I was finally able to harvest my garlic! Isn’t it beautiful?

As the tips of the garlic got yellow and brown, I decided it was time to start harvesting. First, I tipped over all the stalks and left them for a week or so:

They got even more yellow as they sat. I dug them up with my hands, but I would recommend a small trowel. The trick is to get under them and carefully lift up. You really don’t want to damage the bulbs or skin if you can avoid it. Honestly, this is my first time harvesting, so I didn’t do a great job.

Leave the garlic outside in a dry, shady spot. This “cures” them–it takes about a week. Now brush off the extra dirt and they are ready for storage. You can either braid the leaves, or cut them off about an inch above the bulb.

Store in a cool, dry location. The ideal temperature is about 40F.