Garden Planning

We usually sit down in February when seed catalogs come out and dream up our garden configuration and what we want to plant. Last year, our garden was not as successful. Our potato plants suffered from disease and/or insects, our lettuce did not grow, onions were few and far between, and our corn was not thinned so did poorly. The last two years we grew starts in our greenhouse but for some reason, I just wasn't on the ball, or it wasn't my year.I am hoping we are more successful with our gardening efforts this year.

This week we are cleaning out our greenhouse. It is about 12x12 and there are trees shading the southwest side. I want to get a thermometer and some planter boxes and try growing more in there and not transplanting everything. Does anyone have good suggestions for veggies that grow well in a greenhouse? Also, we need to board up some broken windows in it so it will heat up more. We will start some seeds as well. I think I will plant some lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and maybe some spinach. Oh, yeah, my spinach last year did not do well. Why do some veggies turn bitter before they have even bolted? At any rate, this is our big project this week. We need to prune some shrubs and other miscellaneous yard care, but it is also supposed to snow this week. We'll see how things pan out.

I have rhubarb coming up along with daffodils. The chickens have been gleaning around the strawberry plants and thatching under our tree in the front yard. I like them around to fertilize, but boy they can sure make a place look like a pig sty, as they scratch and throw rock and leaves around that I have swept numerous times. Our driveway is a landmine of rocks that they have thrown onto the cement as they glean for bugs in the rock that borders the driveway, not to mention the excrement they leave behind. DH is considering enlarging their pen so they stay put. I like having them around but they do create a mess.