Transplanting

Now that the rain and cold has ended, I am getting ready to plant! I heard that Farmer's Almanac said April 15th was the last frost in our area. Woohoo!

 Each year I swear I'm going to start all my plants from seed, but once I walk into Wyntour Gardens and see their starts, I can't resist!

My garden isn't quite ready yet so we transplanted all of the starts into bigger pots, using some of my existing soil and some Black Gold Potting Soil, from Lassen.  This allows the plant to grow bigger without becoming root-bound. 

(Thanks for the help Tiff and Britt!)

While the garden is being prepped, the plants can soak up the sun in my ghetto-greenhouse. Half of me is embarrassed, but the other half is so impressed with myself!

Here is the beginning of my garden! 

The babies will stay warm and cozy until they are put in the garden.

Weeding

My garden has been neglected since last fall...

This was actually about a month ago. The weeds took over after this... like 3 foot high and solid! It was a royal mess. We put down a thick weed fabric with mulch on top last year, and it worked great, but I wish I would've pulled the fabric right after the season ended. The weeds grew through the fabric once all the mulch started decomposing this spring, creating a huge tangled sheet. 

Last Sunday, after church we decided to tackle it.

Many hands make light work, so I enlisted Reese, Wyatt, Matt, Kaity and her friend Morganne. It made a terrible job fun and a great learning experience! 

 

Job complete! Now we have to pull up fabric, bring in a layer of mushroom compost from Lassen, spread and rototill. After that we will be ready to plant! 

Planning...

Its looking like our short winter has come and gone. Who knows with the crazy Redding weather! One of my favorite late-winter past times is to plan my garden. I request seed catalogs, spread them out and dream of what my garden will look like this year. Usually I don't buy from the catalogs, but read about the varieties and choose what types will work best in my garden. Look at hardiness, grow zone, size of plant, taste, texture, color, etc. I like to buy my seeds from local nurseries, like my fave, Wyntour Gardens, but its great to be educated when you walk in.

 Starting seeds is a fun, but fickle process... you have to decide if you want to fuss over seeds or just buy starts. Seeds take much planning and space, but yield significantly more for less money. If you have a small space, starts are the best way to go- quick, easy, instant gratification. My dream greenhouse is not built yet but my gracious mom and mother-in-law take my seeds and start them for me. I do what I can at my house with clear Rubbermaid tubs and milk jugs, but the majority is grown in their potting sheds.

I am rabbit trailing... I will post more on seeds and starts soon.

By nature I am a compulsive list maker, enjoying the satisfaction of writing down a task and crossing it off. In the same way, I map out every square foot of my garden in perfectly straight plots with a clear walking path between each row, which eases maneuverability and simplifies irrigation layout. Even with this plan, we somehow end up with a solid, immoveable tomato wall, 7 feet tall. By July, I give up on the rows. The garden pushes me to be wild and free, marveling at the jungle of delicious veggies and delighting in the adventure of gathering. Who knows what it would look like if I didn't plan!

Here are some of my favorite tools for planning:

Smart Gardener is a website with mountains of plant information and planning tools. You can join for FREE(!) and construct a garden up to 150'x150'. This website is different than others because they allow you to plan a huge plot with all kind of shapes and offer an extensive plant selection. They actually link places to buy the seeds right off your plant selector. Upgrades to the website were made since last year, so I have yet to find all the new options. Have fun with this!

Another tool is my Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles. This book is so simple and easy to understand. Find your Growing Zone (Redding is Zone 8-9), then read through and find what you'd like to plant. Veggies, herbs, berries, fruit, nuts, tropicals, they cover it all. There's even a chapter on Garden Design. I love this book! The pictures are beautiful and the layout is clean and easy to understand. I bought mine at Costco for around $14 last year at this time. Amazon has it for $16.47. Any Sunset Western Garden books are great. You can usually find old ones at yard sales, but this one feels less complicated. You won't regret purchasing!

There are tons of online resources for gardening... Sunset Magazine has a great website and so does Better Homes and Garden. I use Pinterest.com to keep all of my garden ideas in one spot. Here is the link to my Garden Board. The resources are endless.

Seed catalogs are free, so click the links below and order some for yourself and get started!

• Territorial Seeds
• Seed Savers  
• Seeds of Change
• Johnny's Selected Seeds
• Botanical Interests
• Burpees 

My mother-in-law, Jacque, bought from Territorial Seeds, Seed Savers, and Seeds of Change. She said they all grew great but Territorial Seeds were her favorite because they had more seeds per packet and produced beautifully.

Keep checking your mail box or get started by using the online catalogs.

Use your resources.

Get inspired.

Keep track.

Plan well.

Enjoy the process!

Naming the blog...

When choosing a title for this new adventure, I text my YaYa's (my dearest friends) and asked for help with a name, because they know me better than I know myself. From the beginning, Heirloom was in the mix because of my heritage, so was muddy feet. If you drive up on my garden at any given moment in the summer, you will see me and my kiddos ankle deep in our rich soil. If feeling fancy, I'll put on my knee high rubber boots but when it hits 100 degrees, the boots are off! Bare feet in freshly tilled soil rivals toes in the sand.

My heirloom heart comes from a long line of gardeners. My great-grandma, Hattie, lived on a ranch in Klammath Falls when I was very young. I can remember her garden perfectly, especially the cold boxes. She would bend down, fill her apron with treasures and waddle into the kitchen. My Grandma Judy always has irises as tall as I am lining her back fence every spring. She faithfully gathers from our gardens and orchards to preserve food for winter. Apron on and pairing knife in hand, she peels tomatoes at the sink for hours while we buzz around her with hot mason jars. Then there is my momma... She lives an absolutely chaotic life as a flight nurse, surgical missions leader, humanitarian, teacher and over-the-top grandma, but when she walks through the gates of her garden she is restful, content and collected. I feel that way when I walk into her garden too. Lilies, irises, cosmos, stretch out to shake your hand, hundreds of sunflowers soar above and an eight foot tower of snap peas curl up to the sky. Irresistible Sungold, Ace and Cherry tomatoes beg to be picked, cucumbers and squash sprawl on top of one another. Zinnias, her favorite, grow in every nook and cranny between each row. Heaven will have a garden like this, I am sure of it.

 Soooo... I have some big shoes to fill, but God is gracious to me. My soil here on Churn Creek Bottom is rich and forgiving, my wonderful husband brings home mushroom compost from our business, Lassen Landscape Material and my sweet neighbor, Mr. Johnson, tills my garden with 3 passes of his tractor every spring. Since we moved here in 2010, our garden has flourished, by chance, by grace. This year I'm determined seek counsel from our favorite nursery, Wyntour Gardens and other professionals, then post what I've learned. Here are some topics we will touch on: garden planning, soil conditioning and pH, starting plants from seed, irrigation, tools, canning, recipes and so much more! Thank for following. If you have any questions, please ask, but I am totally new at blogging, so patience is appreciated! 

Spring is approaching, or is it already here? Happy gardening!