As the first day of winter approaches, typing this as I sip a homebrewed hard apple cider, it is nearing the time when I like to reflect on the year behind us and the year ahead.
Next year will be the third year we will be at our homestead. It's hard to believe that two years have already passed. It has been a lot of work, but progress has been made. I considered the first year to be the Year of the House. Carpeting, walls, appliances, and cabinets were removed and gradually replaced. Once the house was comfortable, we took time this year to enjoy the property, making maple syrup, foraging wild mushrooms and existing grape vines and apple trees, walking the woods with a forester - the Year of the Land.
Year three looks to bring more hard work outdoors, for the Year of the Garden.
There has been overlap in our themes from year to year. We still have two bathrooms and two staircases to remodel, so the house is not quite done. This year we found time to look ahead a little and plant a small 5-foot by 12-foot garden - 60 square feet for four tomato plants and a few dozen onions. We also planted some rhubarb, which for the most part seems to have survived. This fall, we looked ahead once again to build raised beds and fill them with composted manure, and to lay out old corrugated metal sheets of roofing material to kill grass for additional garden beds in the spring. The 2021 garden will cover over 700 square feet, more then ten times this year's garden experiment.
Our 2021 garden dreams include:
One raised bed for garlic, built with pine logs from our property. The garlic was planted in early November and is one less thing to plant in the spring;
One raised bed for asparagus, also built with logs. An order for forty crowns of four varieties of asparagus has already been placed with Home Grown Industries in Michigan;
Four 5-foot by 14-foot raised beds for vegetables, built with cedar from the local Amish lumberyard. Two are already filled with compost, and the other two will be filled in the spring once the grass is killed. The debate over what to plant will be starting as soon as the seed catalogs arrive;
One 8-foot by 28-foot garden bed, which will likely be used this year for tomatoes and squash; and
A perennial bed for raspberries (and any extra asparagus).
We have also picked out 17 varieties of fruit trees, and driven stakes to mark their future locations. We plan to place our order for the trees and raspberries with Grandview Orchard in February.
Next year's garden represents an important milestone. Homesteading is all about self-sufficiency, which will include producing our own food. The garden will give us plenty to eat and plenty to preserve. It will also give us time outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. What better time than the start of winter to dream of a garden.
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