2020 and My 2021 Garden Goals
How do I even begin to describe the year 2020? It boggles the mind. All I can say is somebody hit us with the curse "May you live in interesting times" hard. It was a rough year. After a year of upheaval and history making events, a pandemic, social injustice, and political upheaval, December 2020 decided it wasn't done with us. Early in the month a wildfire started, ignited by a house fire only a few blocks away from us. We evacuated at midnight with flames visible from my front porch. My husband, two kids, four cats and as many chickens as we could fit crammed into two cars and drove away. At it's worst there was fire on three sides of my little neighborhood. My house came out okay, but not everyone was so lucky. Frankly, I am grateful to have a garden left to tend.
I will say that 2020 put a lot of things in perspective and really forced me to find the motivation to create positive change for myself. In August I went back to college to finish my degree in Environmental Science. I also started working on and submitting creative writing for the first time in years, and I came up with goals for the 2021 gardening year. I'm pretty excited about that last bit, so without further reflection or ado, here are my goals for my garden in 2021.
1) Improve my winter seed start station.
One of the first things I learned last year was that unlike where I'd lived previously (only 20 miles away) it was too cold in the winter to start plants outside. I started most of my plants in a south window, but didn't really have much space, or any gear. Some heat loving plants like peppers, I just never really got off the ground. This year I aimed to add heat mats to my indoor gear and a tabletop greenhouse to my outdoor gear.
2) Get my strawberry towers full and operational.
My eldest daughter can eat her weight in strawberries, and now my youngest is a toddler who also adores them, too. Last year I managed to get one tower that was maybe half full. It was fun for her, but never really produced enough to dent her berry appetite. This year I want to full towers planted and operational to get a good production going.
3) Improve overall production.
Last year was my first year in the garden, and so much of it was a learning experience. A lot of it was learning the new property, i.e. what the local weather cycle was like, what pests and diseases the area deals with, which plants respond well in which areas of my property etc. Now that I have the basics down, I want to focus on upping the production to provide more food for my family and friends.
4) Establish (and keep healthy) berry bushes and vines.
The front fence of my property is the ideal place for berry bushes and vines, it has the right amount of shade vs sun, and I adore the idea of the kids being able to pull berries off to eat as they play. However, the first year here I did not do enough prep to help the plants survive. I needed better quality beds, better soil amendment and a way...way more secure chicken fence. So this year I will be creating a better, more protected space to establish these plants.
And there you have it, 2020 in hindsight (thankfully) and my garden plans for this year! Stay tuned as I begin working on and posting about these goals! All the best, and may we all have a boring, pleasant year,
Bethany
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