Get Ready for 2019 Gardening Season - Plant Garlic, Shallots & More!
Gardening is a great way to relax and enjoy the outdoors. It's also a great way to learn about nature, grow your own food, and create beautiful spaces. This year, I'm getting ready for the 2019 gardening season by preparing my garlic bed and ordering some new varieties of plants.
I've ordered Music (hardneck), Chesonok Red (hardneck), Sicillian Silver (softneck), and Pioneer (softneck) garlic bulbs, as well as grey, red, and yellow shallots. For this fall, I'm planning on planting goldseal, ginseng, saffron bulbs, Egyptian walking onions, and yellow potato onions around the edges of the garden. The saffron will be planted in an old milk crate so it can be brought inside during winter.
Unfortunately, 2018 wasn't a great gardening year for me due to health issues. I didn't have the energy or time to devote to weeding and planting, and work got really busy. But now that things are better, I'm back in the garden cleaning up and getting ready for next year.
Someone from work offered me their seed starting setup and supplies which was great news! To make use of it, I added a second hand dresser for storage and mixed LED and fluorescent lights for growing. I moved several plants indoors because temperatures were going to drop below 30 degrees Fahrenheit overnight. These included lemon grass, rosemary, geraniums, and lemon coral sedum. Everything was pruned or pinched back and washed with warm water before being sprayed with insecticide soap and given a hydrogen peroxide soil drench.
Surprise! While cleaning out my hanging baskets I found a little baby tomato plant - either Tumbling Tom or Jelly Bean - which I transplanted into one of my lettuce boxes. Hopefully I'll get some winter cherry tomatoes from it!
My order from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and American Meadows arrived too. With it came saffron which I am planting inside in a container to bring outside on sunny days. My husband and I love curries, Thai and Indian dishes so having our own saffron is very exciting!
Once the rain stopped I raked over the first L-shaped bed again and topped it up with some garden soil mix from Just Natural. I then sprinkled Garden Tone over it before planting older seeds for greens at the back part of the L shape. Finally, everything was watered before moving onto the next bed.
All in all, 2019 looks set to be an exciting gardening year!
What varieties of garlic and shallots did you order?
I ordered Music (hardneck), Chesonok Red (hardneck), Sicillian Silver (softneck), and Pioneer (softneck) garlic, as well as grey, red, and yellow shallots.
What other plants did you order for this fall?
I ordered goldseal, ginseng, saffron bulbs, Egyptian walking onions, and yellow potato onions for this fall.
How are you preparing your garden for 2019?
I am cleaning things up for 2019, but not making any huge plans for expanding the garden. I'm being gentle with myself.
What supplies did you receive from work?
Someone from work offered me their seed starting setup and supplies. It included a second hand dresser for seed and other storage, two shelves from Aldi that are metal with four shelves each, a mix of LED and flouresent lights for growing, and other supplies.
What plants did you move inside?
I moved inside trimmed back lemon grass, something that the lady at the green house just called lemon scented plant, rosemary, geraniums, and lemon Coral sedum.
What did you find in your hanging baskets?
I found a baby plant in my hanging baskets which is either Tumbling Tom or Jelly Bean.
What did you order from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and American Meadows?
I ordered saffron from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and American Meadows.
What soil are you using in your beds?
I am using garden soil from Just Natural topped with Garden Tone in my beds. I am also adding manure from my neighbors bunnies, bagged manure from the store, leaves, and grass clippings to improve the soil quality.