As everyone knows spring is right around the corner. The chickens we recived last July as a gift are laying eggs. The weather has warmed up. The yard has greened up. It’s almost time to dig up and replant the Jerusalem Artichokes. It’s also time to inventory seeds and get your seed orders in quickly. One could argue it might be too late!
I have just gone through my entire seed stash which has diminished over the years. I have plenty for this year, but probably not for two years out. I am donating any seeds over two years old to the local blessing boxes. That way someone in need of food can grow their own. They will still germinate but at a much lower rate. For example, it may be only 50% germinate.
The only exception to this rule is perennials which are up to five years or older will be donated. Anything under that and I will try to germinate them. With perennials, you don’t really need a ton of plants to grow. Some of them, I have 100 seeds for and frankly if one or two grew it would be plenty. In this case, it is worth it since they only need a 1% germination rate to be worth it.
I will start by planting perennials this year. They will be potted in little pots and potting soil. I will plant them outdoors and not in the greenhouse with each one labeled. I aim to have enough of these perennial vegetables, herbs, and fruits to cover most of the hillside I live on. That would leave the tip top of the hill for annual vegetables and fruit and the bottom lands for field crops and animals. The hillside needs to be productive without constantly turning the soil, so those perennials there must be only above ground. This will prevent erosion too.
Next, I plan to write down every seed I still have for use and to plan my gardens. I would like several small ones. I want my perennial hillside garden, my front yard herb and flower garden, my backyard vegetable garden, my side yard vegetable gardens, and my field crops. After planning, I will see how much room I have for everything. I need to grow as much as I can as close to the house as possible. I will be focusing on fruiting plants, greens, and root crops lastly.
We have four duck eggs incubating in the hopes that they hatch. I enjoy ducks for dinner, but I do not like their eggs. I am hoping to get about twelve ducks hatched so we can have one duck a month. It would be even better to get more, but we only have three ducks laying. After we are done hatching out duck eggs, we will switch to hatching out chicken eggs since my girls have a rooster. The goal is another twenty-five chickens. Assuming at least half are roosters, we will have twelve that can be put to good use in my canner.
Every year since 2020 I have had terrible luck in the garden. Between crops suddenly dying, weeds taking over, messed up shoulders, and a broken foot…everything went wrong. I am hoping and praying this year is not that bad. I will focus on perennials, foods I can, and just enough fresh to skate through with a few groceries being bought.
Also, this year we plan to work at a local farm for fresh produce just in case we have a terrible garden year again. That way we have a backup plan for making sure we get food on the table and canned up into jars. My family is looking for other farms we could work at to supplement our other food needs like dairy and meat. So far, only a chicken farm would allow us to for money and eggs, but the pay rate is worse than our current jobs and we have our own chickens for eggs. Wish us luck as we do our best to make our way!
Hinterland Living 