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Happy New Gardening Year!
Greetings and welcome to the new subscribers!
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This time last year, The Book was in its final edits and getting ready to go to print. It wasn't in my hands until the beginning of February. This year it’s in a lot of your hands so you can start at the beginning with the info-packed January chapter on planning. If you don’t have The Book yet, now is the time to get it so you can spend this month dreaming about this summer's garden.
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CSA Shares for 2024
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Customers pre-order their plants and seeds providing upfront capital and becoming an interest-free lender for the farmer. There are elements of trust and risk involved, but on the whole, it's a win/win situation that builds community. I'm proud to say I personally know every single one of my customers because of this business model.
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This year, I added spinach to the Spring Share and nasturtiums and Red Kuri squash to the Summer Share. Basil now also comes in a 4" pot for people who don't need six plants. New sauce tomatoes are Plum Regal and Hog Heart, along with the old stand-by, Amish Paste. Tropical Sunset is a yellow and pink striped fruity cherry tomato that will replace Sunrise Bumblebee.
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I also have a couple of new varieties of yellow squash to try. The beautiful and reliable Slick Pik isn't available anymore from Fedco, because their supplier, Syngenta, manufactures neonics, which kill pollinators. Read a very detailed and fascinating explanation here:
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So here's what we have this year:
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Spring Shares include broccoli, cabbage, Swiss chard, cool weather lettuces, kale, green onions, and spinach starts. Renee's Garden Seed Packet Bundle has carrots, beets, arugula, snow peas, sweet peas, and radishes for direct seeding. Deadline for ordering is March 15.
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Summer Shares include tomatoes, peppers, basil, warm weather lettuces, zucchini, yellow squash, winter squash, cucumbers, eggplant, and lots of flowers. You can also order Swiss chard, kale, and cabbage for summer planting. The Seed Packet Bundle has bush beans and sunflowers to direct seed. Deadline for ordering is April 15.
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Stay tuned for plant sale and seed swap dates!
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Red Kuri squash curing in the greenhouse sun
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Get Educated this Winter!
Kevin is teaching his sustainable ag course at UNM - Taos again, but this time for the full semester. He has knowledgeable presenters, hands-on projects, and field trips (like to my greenhouses!). He doesn't give 'homework', per se, but he'll make you think! It starts next week, January 18, so sign up as soon as you can. This is the description he sent me:
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Sustainable Food Farming - 56658 - CNST 136
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This course serves as an introduction to local applications of sustainable and organic farming and gardening practices with agriculture ecology and Permaculture understanding. Emphasis will be on the fundamentals of agriculture: soils, seeds, and water.
Schedule Types: Lecture/Practice Experience
3.000 Credit hours, pass/fail or audit
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January 18 - May 9, Thursdays 3-5:30
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Also this winter, NMSU Taos County Cooperative Extension Service & 4-H Program is offering the New Mexico Extension Master Gardener Program. This is a condensed version of my education at the University of New Hampshire, covering plant and soil science, pathology, botany, and how to grow everything from vegetables to trees. It runs from January 15 - May 1. Contact the Taos County Cooperative Extension Office at 575-758-3982 for further information.
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If you take both of these courses, you'll have a solid ag foundation that you'll draw on for the rest of your life.
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January Garden Tasks
What a month! So much to dream about! I love this time of year when anything is possible in the garden.
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Start by making a garden journal with those possibilities. Think about what you want to grow and what you need to grow for food, medicine, dyeing, and seed saving. Write it all down, get some seed catalogs, surf the internet, and dream away!
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Keep your birdfeeders full especially when there's snow on the ground. Water your trees that don't have snow at their bases. Honor National Seed Swap Day on January 27 by sorting your seed and getting ready for the multiple local and regional seed swaps in the spring. Have a few friends over to trade seed and garden stories. Get energized for a new season!
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Sorting some of my seed stash last winter
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Cacti and Succulents
I have a new website category called Cacti and Succulents. You've probably already heard the story of the Cereus repandus, aka Peruvian Apple Cactus started from seed last spring. We've acquired more plants that I put on the website, and there are more in the propagating chamber that will be available in the spring.
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Cereus repandus flower, measuring 7" across! Photo by Nancy Zinno
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