Winter Blues

My new lettuce grower!!!

Kryp the rooster keeping a watchful eye on everything in the garden.





I am not fond of the winter months. As a child I think it was due to having a summer birthday. Now in adulthood I have really tried to embrace winter for all the togetherness the cold months thrust upon us, but by mid-January I am ready for spring. I really am not sure I could make do any further north than Atlanta, at least not for long. One of the brighter spots in my winter doldrums is all the spring garden planning I get to do. I love looking at seed catalogs and old gardening magazines. I know realistically living in zone 8 Georgia I could have something going in the garden year round and this is one of my 2009 goals. It seems as though we are always so busy in the fall and we also normally take our vacation that time of year that I just never get around to planting fall crops.
This year I hope to get a jumpstart on some plantings. Allen built me a small greenhouse for one of my raised beds and I will be starting some romaine lettuce just as soon as the seeds arrive. I have also ordered some other cold season seeds such as spinach, turnips, carrots and sugar snap peas. I know there are other things I would like to try but I think this is a good start. Another goal for 2009 is to get an asparagus crop going, a farmer friend, Nicolas, is digging up some of his this year and I am counting the days until I can get those crowns in my hot little hands. I LOVE asparagus!!My farmer friend's wife, Madeline, introduced me to the art of roasting the spears and I was in love (with the spears). You have to wait a few years after planting before you can harvest but its so worth it- your asparagus patch if properly maintained is suppose to give you as many as 15 years of service. Yum!!!!!