Each year I try to garden with a goal in mind. My goal is always to produce and preserve as much food as we need to get us through the winter and to help me spend as little as possible at the grocery store.
Last year I had some pretty lofty goals and fell completely flat on my face. It was a horrible growing season in 2016. Heat and drought took it’s toll on the garden and a late frost killed all of the blossoms on the fruit trees. I have never seen anything like it really.
I revisited my goals from last year and chopped some of the harder to reach goals out.
Here is a list of my family’s 2017 Gardening and Preserving Goals.
Herbs:
- Garlic
- Chives
- Aloe Vera
- Dill
- Artemisia
- Calendula
- Chamomile
- Cilantro
- Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea)
- Sweet Woodruff
- Lavender
- Lemon Balm
- Mint
- Catnip
- Basil
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Anise
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Dandelion
- Thyme
- Nasturtium
- Valerian
Crops:
- Asparagus
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Cherries Sweet
- Cherries Sour
- Pears
- Peaches
- Grapes
- Rhubarb
- Sweet Peppers
- Banana Peppers
- Eggplant
- Onions
- Shallots
- Snap Bean Bush – Purple, yellow and green
- Snap Bean Pole
- Peas
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Cabbage
- Swiss Chard
- Beets
- Radish
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Pumpkins
- Gourds
- Winter Squash
- Zucchini
- Yellow Squash
- Cantaloupes
- Water Melon
- Sunflowers
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Broccoli
- Potatoes
- Yellow Tomatoes
- Paste Tomatoes
Preserving:
- Strawberry Jam
- Grape Jelly
- Black Raspberry Jam
- Red Raspberry Jam
- Peach Jam
- Pear Jelly
- Apple Jelly
- Honeyed Yellow Tomato Butter
- Canned Cherries in Syrup
- Canned Cherry Pie Filling Sweet
- Canned Cherry Pie Filling Sour
- Basil Banana Pepper Jelly
- Apple Sauce
- Grape Juice
- Pear Juice
- Tart Cherry Juice
- Pickled Beets
- Canned Beets
- Vegetable Stock
- Vegetable Soup
- Tomato Sauce
- Blackberry, Red Raspberry, Peach, Cherry Cordials
- Chili Sauce (Two different kinds)
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- Frozen Corn
- Frozen Peppers
- Frozen Beet Greens/Chard
- Red Root Relish
- Lemon Sage Wine Mustard
- Dilly Deans
- Pickled Hot Peppers
- Sweet Crisp Pickles
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Whole Tomatoes Packed in Water
- Canned Green Beans
- Frozen Peas
- Frozen Winter Squash and some stored whole
- Chili
- Stuffed Hot Peppers
- Stuffed Sweet Peppers
So far, we are already doing mighty fine with our 2017 gardening goals and we have had plenty of rain too. Yippee!
This last weekend we added 3 more raised veggie beds which brings my planting area to about 200 sq. ft. of space to work with. Yippee! Thank you Mr. Ripley for working so hard. (He said it was my Mother’s Day present).
To date we have planted carrots, peas, radish, and lettuce but much more will be planted by the end of this week.
How will I keep track of all of this? My journal. And lists. LOTS of lists. Should be interesting! Wish me luck and I will keep you updated. -MM
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