Happy New Year!

Another New Year! I personally cannot believe we are so far past the year 2000 already. As always, the thought of a new start or fresh beginning is heartening. I have made my yearly resolution to lose weight, but have also thought about resolutions I want to make as a gardener.
I resolve to mulch, mulch and mulch some more in my rose and perennial areas to cut back on weeding this spring and summer. Last summer was an endless battle against mostly thistles, and a thick layer of newspapers and a few bags of mulch should go a long way to alleviate that problem.
Speaking of roses I resolve to be more regular with a good feeding regimen – starting in March at least a monthly feeding of ½ cup of Epsom salts and a gallon of fish emulsion/seaweed solution per rose - I have about forty roses so this will take some determination. Also concerning my roses – I also plan to buy some silica gel and this year try drying some of my huge harvest of roses I have in late May/early June. A fellow member of a roses email group I belong to (FortheLoveofRoses – Yahoo Groups)
shared that she dries roses every summer and then uses the dried roses to decorate a rose themed Christmas tree every year. What a great idea! I could also use the dried roses to accent my pine roping, or to make arrangements for homemade gifts. I have air dried many roses but silica gel is supposed to give superior results.
I also resolve not to buy too many seeds to start in the late winter months. I will select a few that I really want to start and stick with those. If one tries to start too many some just get neglected and sadly languish. I will definitely start my parsley much earlier, maybe even in January. Last year I think I started it in April and it didn’t even get going until October. I have some nice shelves with grow lights in the basement for this resolution. Fresh parsley is so good in so many things, especially chopped coarsely and sprinkled on nearly any soup. More on seed starting in the very near future.
I also resolve not to have my yearly collection of unplanted pots of perennials at the end of the season. I had surgery in early November and then had to tell my husband where to plant a few things and only be able to supervise – I dislike not being in control of my garden. Three sad little plants are still in pots under a small boxwood shrub near my front door – maybe they will survive to be planted and maybe they won’t. I had a few dozen bulbs still left and last week I planted them all in one of those large pots made of a foam like material. I think they will all come up – twenty-five Darwin tulips, some random species tulips, and a couple of dozen small Fritillaria bulbs.
I was very happy with my vertical gardening with vegetables last year and plan to do more of that. The tomato and cucumber vines I grew alongside a large garden arch structure did so well that I was amazed. I also resolve to try some okra and tomatillos this year for the first time. I also resolve to plant more cucumbers as I would really like to hae enough to try making a few pickles.
As much as I love sunflowers – I do resolve not to plant any this year, as they take up too much valuable room in my small yard. If I someday own a larger lot – a half-acre for example, I would plant dozens. The three or four I grew last year shaded my sun loving peppers and I could have fit one or two more tomato plants in that space.
I also resolve to keep on gardening organically as I have been doing for the past nineteen years with my present garden– no Miracle-Gro, no weedkillers, no bug killers – as I see the splendid results of organic methods. Every year my soil is richer, loamier, and all my plants healthier with less work.
I also resolve to document better – when I plant things, when seeds are started, names of perennials or vegetable varieties or maybe how many tomatoes are actually harvested, as these facts could be helpful in future years. Next fall I hope to have put into practice some of these “conceived in hope for the future” resolutions. And maybe have lost thirty pounds ?!?!?