The Plan for Spring

I love this time of year! It is still too cold here in Idaho to accomplish much outside, but inside next to the fireplace, I am in full scale planning mode for our gardens and yard. 

Obviously not to scale!

We have a very small area, so every little bit of space has to be used wisely!  We currently have three raised beds on the north side of the backyard and a row of arbor vitae on the west fence for a little bit of privacy.  The southwest corner is fully occupied by the chicken coop and run.

My goal this year is to get the blueberry and raspberry bushes replanted and to have a productive vegetable harvest.  We didn't get anything last year except for a few carrots because the free ranging chickens and ducks ate EVERYTHING. Literally.  Now that they are confined to their run, I am hoping to have more success!

Marcus wants to grow a giant pumpkin and the kids would like to plant some grape vines, so we will incorporate those into the plan as well.  I also want to plant some potatoes in buckets and maybe a few corn stalks on the fence line.

Some of the best advice for gardeners I have ever read is to only grow what your family will eat.  In the past, I have always overplanted because I thought that every decent "wannabe homesteader" should grow things like peppers, cucumbers, and cabbage.  The problem is that we don't really eat those veggies very often.  So even if we did get a good crop, it went to waste in the fridge. 

Everything I've got on the plan for this year is food that we will eat fresh or I will can for the winter.  I am excited to get started and see how my garden grows!