2024 Garden Goals

By: Jennifer Frost

As the first month of the new year just wrapped up, it is not too early to start thinking about your garden. Before you know it, spring will have sprung, and we will be in the thick of the summer heat.

When I reflect on the success of my garden last year, there were a few things that I did well and several that would benefit from some improvement. Last year, I had a crazy amount of success from my potatoes. I planted them in portable cloth containers, and I doubled the amount of potatoes that I planted. Additionally, my cayenne peppers grow quickly, and multiple peppers were constantly budding and maturing.

What went poorly were my onions, which did not even make it outside, but instead withered indoors after two months of showing vibrancy and growth. Additionally, my eggplants who flourished inside failed to produce after transplanting outdoors and instead turned pale and the leaves went limp. So, as I have had time to reflect on both my failures and successes of my 2023 garden, I am not ready to make my five garden goals of the 2024 year.

1. Successfully Grow Onions

   After my failures last year, I spent a significant amount of time researching how to successfully grow onions in my area. This year I have done the necessary prep work; in the fall I added compost and shredded leaves to the raised beds to prepare them for spring planting. Additionally, I have done some investigative work of when the best date range to start onions indoors from seeds and the steps to take to ensure a good transplanting. This year I will be growing three types of onions: a yellow onion for storage; a red onion for adding to salads and making pickled onions; and, sweet walla walla onions for fresh eating and frittatas.

2. Grow Enough Tomatoes

   Last year, I got a few small beef steak tomatoes and about of quart of cherry tomatoes. This was a good start for me. However, given my love of tomatoes and tomato products, my tomato goal this year is both volume and variety of tomatoes. This is probably my most significant undertaking of a goal this year. The varieties of tomatoes that I will be planting this year are: cherry tomatoes; sunburst tomatoes; San Marzano; Amish Paste; heirloom; and, beefsteak. I will enjoy each variety as freshly eaten tomatoes, but I also have plans for some varieties. For San Marzano and Amish Paste, I will mostly use these two for making marinara sauce, bbq sauce, and salsa for canning and consuming long past the time the garden ends in the fall. I really enjoy eating the beefsteak and heirloom tomatoes on sandwiches, in salads, in an omelet, and as part of pasta dishes.

3. Produce Enough Ingredients to Make My Own Pickles

   There is nothing as amazing as homemade pickles; however, this requires lots of cucumbers, a robust amount of dill, and potent garlic. As I have put my garlic in the ground to overwinter and just need to patiently wait for it to arrive, I now need to focus on growing my cucumbers and dill in large amounts. This year, I plan to plant eight pickling cucumber plants and six dill plants to achieve the level of produce needed to make enough pickles to get me through 2024 and to the 2025 garden season.

4. Keep Vibrant Herbs Growing Throughout the Garden Season

   I do not know if this is something anyone else notices, but fresh herbs are so overly priced in the store while also needed as such a staple in culinary creations. I constantly am in need of fresh herbs to take my cuisine from good to flavorful. As such, I have purchased one of the stackable herb containers to plant outside my front door and keep my herbs growing throughout the garden season. This may require multiple starting of these seeds; last year my basil was abundant in its growth but both my parsley and cilantro bolted due to the heat.

5. A Heavier Focus on Succession Planting this Season

   Lastly, but most importantly, I want to change my focus to succession planting. I want to make the most of the space I have while I am developing new spaces to grow, by creating a transplant and seed start schedule. This year my focus is going to revolve around starting and transplanting cold crops early and then one they mature, planting warmer crops in the same space immediately after. Although, I have not finalized my schedule, my goal is to transplant hardier crops (cabbages, broccoli, lettuces, and kale) into the garden in the second half of March to be harvested by the end of May. Once those plants have been harvested, I plan to transplant with warmer crops (cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, peppers, squashes, and melons) to harvested throughout July, August, and September. Then end the season with another round of cold crops to pull around the end of October or beginning of November.

These goals have made me very excited for the upcoming gardening season and I look forward to sharing my progress with you readers throughout the spring and summer.