I'm looking out on my eight garden beds in the back yard. The strawberry and asparagus bed is wintering-over just fine. I cut the asparagus ferns down a week ago, when they finally turned brown, and fell over. Now, they are ready for sending up new stalks, which I will be able to harvest this year. This past year, each crown sent up at least twelve stalks, so, I expect this year to be a real good year for them. I just pulled and started dehydrating the parsley that I had growing with the asparagus. The strawberries seem to not realize that it is winter. I picked a good, hardy variety, and they are green, and still sending out new shoots, which I need to snip back every few weeks.

In the ol' Square Foot gardening 101 (4'x8") bed, the garlic is popping up, and the 4'x4' square of spinach and snap peas are sprouting under the floating row cover, which I have tented using crossing cheap plastic water pipe, catty-corner like a dome-style tent about 18" high. The row cover allows water and 95% of the light get through, keeps frost off during cold nights (the frost collects ON the row cover, and not on the plant), while collecting heat during the day. I could have used visqueen, but then I'd have to water often. I just might break some out if we get a really long, hard freeze here in Southwest Tennessee in the next few weeks, while the plants are still tender.

In another bed, I still have some onions, leeks and carrots heeled-in, and continue to pull a few here and there for cooking. There is something absolutely fantastic about garden-fresh produce in the middle of winter. The kale and swiss chard are still going strong, as are the rosemary, parsley, catnip, and sage.

I ordered this year's seeds mostly from The Ark Institute (they will gladly swap a pack of this seed for more of that seed within their non-hybrid, non-GMO package deals-- I asked for more beans, fewer grains and squashes, this year), and Seeds of Change, along with some from Local Harvest. They all came in over the past two weeks, and as per the Farmer's Almanac, I just got finished getting my seedlings started for the peppers, tomatoes, and cabbages that I will have in the garden this year. I also started some Imperial Artichokes and some broccoli.

Everything else, I can seed in place for growing in the garden, down here. I like getting a head start with peppers, tomatoes and cabbages in particular.

Meanwhile, I am making all the layout plans, and bed improvements for the Spring right now. Setting cash aside, and buying what I will need. This will be the year when gardening for food will not be an option. I'd recommend getting started right now.

Something to think about for folks in Zones 5 thru 7:

Put my "mini-greenhouse" set up over the place you want to start peas, radishes, greens, chard, lettuces and/or spinach. Use 5 to 6 feet of 1/2-inch flexible water pipe each, to make two "dome tent" supports that will arch, catty-corner over a 4'x4' square, about 18" high, when you push them into the ground a bit. Use a stake and hammer to punch a hole if the ground is frozen. Cover the frame with a double-layer of thick-mil visqueen, and clamp with shop clamps or weigh down with bricks or logs or whatchagot that's heavy. If you have snow on the ground, sprinkle a layer of fireplace ash or crushed charcoal over the snow inside the frame before putting the plastic on. The snow will melt pretty quickly under the tent, and I'll bet you'll be able to get some cold weather crops growing within a few days. Put a soil thermometer in there, and check the temperature at various times of day. You could be eating tasty greens and peas by the time you would be just able to plant them otherwise.

It is better to grow than to buy your food.

"Well, it starts with a catalogue that comes in the mail
In the middle of the winter, when you’ve had it with those pale
Thick-skinned, store-bought, sorry, hard-as-rock
Excuses for tomatoes with the flavor of a sock"
--Stephanie Davis

Get started now, folks. 2009 is going to be a very, very hard year.

Please, Lambert, for fuck's sake, can we PLEASE just have a simple Department of Gardening, and some SIMPLE thread headings for Gardening (food, flower, herbal)? PLEASE? Take a poll of how many people understand that French phrase... Dude, just make it Department of GARDENING. Food: Production. Suburban Gardening, Urban Gardening, Seed Starting. Thread: Gardening. Simple. No foreign language crap. SIMPLE. More readers clicking in. Please?

Note: The Ark Institute is going to roll out an "Apartment Dwellers" non-hybrid/non-GMO seed pack in the coming week or so. Check that link, above for updates. I'm not pimpin' them, I don't even know what the pack will contain, but, they are great people to do business with. They are honest, their seeds grow, and you can save and plant the seeds from last year's harvest next year-- AND they are willing to swap seeds within a package to fit your needs. For "clean" seeds, I bet the price will be pretty good.

--mf