2024 Garden Goals

As winter comes to a close and people are shaking off the frigid air of February in New England, the blossoming excitement of this year’s garden plans starts to live rent free in my mind. Last year, since the property was purchased so late in the season, my garden plan and action were more of a scattered mess only resulting in mini garlic bulbs, delicious potatoes, and a handful of lettuces and cherry tomatoes. This year I have crafted a more detailed plan with three goals in mind for the season.

Goal 1: Succession Planting

This year to increase my yield and take advantages of the space available, my first goal is to focus on the succession planting. This means planting according to the parts of the season, this will start with cold hardy plants to be quickly replaced by warmer plants. This goal will also rely heavily on seed starting indoors, so that once items are harvested that space can be filled with a subsequent planting.

Goal 2: Companion Planting

Due to the location of the property (i.e., next to a freshwater marsh), the insects run rampant on the property. To reduce the impact of insects on my crops and ensure a fruitful harvest, I plan on relying on companion planting to reduce the negative impacts of insects on its companion. For example, I will plant rosemary and onions together, as rosemary repels onion pests.

Goal 3: Stock Up of Staples Crops

This year instead of half-hazardly growing a lot of cool sounding plants or vegetables that need do not store well, I will focus on growing a large yield of the crops that I eat most often. In this household, the crops that are most consumed throughout the year are: broccoli, onions, garlic, corn, spinach, and carrots. These are the items that I will grow in large quantities and then preserve through freezing, dehydrating or canning. Additionally, I will grow sufficient amounts of tomatoes and cucumbers to create a prepare a vast amount of tomato sauce and pickles, which are consumed in vast amounts in our house. I probably eat at least a jar of pickle spears on my own in a week.

Follow along this season to see how successful 2024 is for Honorary Homesteader!