We mainly used Better Homes and Gardens Complete Guide to Gardening from 1978? It is awsome! We are going to be planting peppers (bell, hot, mild, sweet), corn, beans, pumpkins, tomoatoes, potatoes, onions, squash, peas, lettuce, spinach, watermelon, carrots, cucumbers (both reg and pickling varieties), sunflowers, herbs, and lots of flowers. We are looking forward to canning again, but being more prepared for all of the yummy goodies we have! We had a lot of waste last year as I was 9 months pregnant and then had a newborn right at harvest time. So this year should be better. We also go to local orchards and pick apples, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, and pears. So another way we will be more prepared is to know the growing season, where is the best u-pick and then how to preserve the yummy fruit. Greg eats a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so we will be making more jam this year. We have found that using honey in our jams is much better and healthier. However for peaches, sugar is best. We will be playing around some more this year, and finding what mixures we like best.
Jacob is looking forward to his garden. We let him do sunflowers last year, and he planted them, watered them, and watched them grow. We don't harvest the seeds, but use them as natrual bird feeders!
We tried doing starters last year, but our house just isn't warm enough and we do not have the space. So we have this local farm stand where we went and bought all of our starts from last year. Their prices were great and they had really good varieties. Plus it is always good to support local farmers!
