Good weekend for me.

Aside from spending time with my wife, baby and mother-in-law, I got a lot of good stuff done this weekend.  It began with a nice informal seed seminar at Johnson's Garden Center.  I know that sounds sort-of lame, but it was very interesting. For someone that knows nothing about starting seeds, I learned a lot. And I got to meet a nice lady that operates a large community garden at a church just West of the river, near Indian Hills pool.  If I'm fortunate enough to have plentiful starting plants, I'll be donating my extras to their garden.  They'll have nearly 1600 square feet of ground, and they'll attempt to plant mostly Native seeds.  Native, as in, Native American.  She was a member of a tribe (didn't know which one, though) and she had been attempting to get seeds from all the other nations. Pretty cool stuff! Here's a pic of my instructor at the seminar.

Seed seminar guide.

I later spent a bunch of money on some necessary equipment for starting seeds. Good news, though, is I won't have to buy the stuff later!

On Sunday I ended up working to complete my fence that was started a few weeks ago.  With the snow and cold weather, I've been inside all cooped up. It was super nice getting out in the 53 degree weather to do some manual labor. Here's the finished product:

New picket garden fence

I finally got my tables made in the greenhouse.  Simple design, and will end up being very effective. I'm not much for waste, so I constructed my tables out of my old fence that I tore down to put up the new picket fence.  Reclaimed materials is green and much cheaper than buying all new product.  I'll have plenty of space to lay out my starting seeds and other potting materials. I also plan to store some other garden stuff in the green house so I can reclaim some space in my garage. Here are some photos of the finished products!

Sunny day in February! Working on my tables in the green house.

Ready for table tops. I'm using reclaimed fence wood.

Looking out from the green house.

Ahh. done, and it really looks good. Ready for rock in the floors.

Last step to prepare the green house is to get some gravel. Then it's ready to use! We only need the weather to stabilize and warm up a bit!  Going from -16 degrees on Thursday morning to 53 degrees Sunday is crazy!

The  next step is to begin to plan what I want to grow. There are tons of good veggies to eat, but not all will be a good idea to put in my garden. I learned about some basic things to consider at my seed seminar.  And I picked up the latest version of Kansas Garden Guide, published by the Kansas State University Extension Office.  It offers lots of good ideas for planting. I have to get the tiller services so I can get the ground turned over right away. I forgot to do it last year, as I was busy with my new baby!  My next post will hopefully be about what I've chosen to grow. Maybe a layout of my garden. Cheers!

More progress...

So, winter in Kansas is so unpredictable. I have spent most of my time indoors. But alas, this weekend was awesome.  It began with Thursday in the upper 50's, Friday in the upper 60's, Saturday in the 50's and a pretty good Sunday, topping the 40's.  It was my calling to get some stuff done in the outdoors.

As previously mentioned, I built my greenhouse a few weeks ago. I have a goal to re-do the fence bordering my garden to make it more viewable from the house, but also to provide a little more light to the veggies I place near the fence.  I also need tables for the green house, so I had my work cut out for me.  I have a tendency to take on more than I can chew up, and with my help a little short due to a needy child, I was on my own for most of my projects. That is, until Superman (Zach) showed up to offer his assistance. I tell you, I can't get much done with out his help. BIG THANKS to Mr. Zach for his brute and strength. I am grateful.

I tackled the fence right away, and got 2/3 of it updated to the new picket style. I'll post pics as soon as I can.  Zach and I built the frames to my new 10 foot long tables.  I just need to add a bit more leg support, and top them.  So, things are getting closer to being ready to grow. We just have to get this weather a bit more steady.  Forecast is for temps in the teens, with ice and snow in the near future.  So, more indoor projects are in my future!

Progress is hard to see in winter....

So, the winter brings much time to reflect on my goals and objectives for the spring, but it doesn't bring much in the way of visible progress in my garden. Aside from the huge 10x12' green house that I was so lucky to have help building several weeks ago, I am feeling like this sub-freezing weather will end all of a sudden, and I'll be once again behind in my planning for what is to be planted in the ground. 

I think I have decided on the basic design of my nearly 400 sq ft. plot as a garden.  It is important for me to plant items that every member of my family will be eating.  Aside from tomatoes, which my wife still thinks are killer edibles (in other words, she hates them!), we're a pretty good eating family. And that is what this project is all about. Discovering how to create a foodie from baby to grownup.  My son, now just a week over 3 months old, will probably grow up wanting to eat what mom and dad enjoy. Therefore, it is my goal to help him discover all the great things in life that we enjoy, but without all the processed garbage the big food manufacturers and restaurants want him to become addicted to.  I like the notion that he may grow up wanting to help me out in the garden...besides, I'll need some help!  Isn't that what kids were for back in the old days of the Great Plains?  To assist in production on the farm? 

One thing for sure I have decided is that I want to have some sort of fresh fruit in my garden.  While fruit bearing trees are generally not typical for Kansas, potted trees can easily grow on my patio and in my small sun room.  Winter is harsh, so having the flexibility to bring a small lemon or orange tree in and out of my home will ensure we have fresh citrus edibles.  So that means my in-ground garden will consist mostly of colorful foods, from beets, radishes, asparagus, lettuce and greens, tomatoes, squashes, peppers and herbs.  Of course, it will be important to consider the time line for production/harvesting.  Since baby food is processed so the baby can easily palate it, we'll need to make sure we plan accordingly so my wife and I have time to make and freeze the food. There is nothing I hate more than wasted food.

So, the next step is to actually plot out what space we have, and what we think we can cram into our garden.  By the time we get that done and can get in and clean out the mess created from last years harvest, it will be time to start planing seedlings in the green house.  I suppose we'll also need to build shelves to work on, too!  Too bad the weather is so cold right now...the last thing anyone wants to do is sit out in the cold.