January 2022 Garden Update - Lisa's Two Cents

Good morning and happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend! We had an uneventful weekend filled with lots of relaxation and some time planning my garden which is what I want to share with you today!

Well, there’s not much to see out in the garden right now as it is sleeping and covered in about a foot and a half of snow.

My seed orders have almost all arrived, so I’ve been pulling those out, reading all about them and starting to put together my seed starting schedule to get a jump on the season!

I keep all my papers, notes and garden maps in my garden journal. You can read about what my garden journal contains here.

I’m making some big changes to my garden this year which I am super excited about. Last July, we were faced with a TON of rain. Areas of my garden flooded out, seedlings floated away and I lost 1/2 of my dahlia crop.

This year I’m investing in raised beds (even though lumber is still SUPER expensive). I finalized that purchase a couple weeks ago and could not be happier!

I decided to make the long beds 12′ longer now they will be 40 feet, and add more beds to the side yard as those were super successful last season!

Once I have my seeds all organized, I will start filling in the beds with flower varieties and quantities. That is one of my most favorite parts!

Seed Starting

To start seeds, you need a your seeds, a seed tray (72 cell works), heating mat, a grow light and seed starting soil.

Your seed packet will tell you when to start planting (i.e. 4-6 weeks before your last frost date).

This is important if you want to get a jump on the season.

I will also be planting many different varieties of plants so I am starting to organize all that information so I know how many plants of each crop I will need to fill my flower beds.

There is A LOT of work and math that is happening during this time, but I cannot wait to get my hands in the dirt and start growing.

My tulips will hopefully start popping up next month (I can’t believe that time is almost here!). Once the snow melts away, I may try to cover one of the beds with a low tunnel to get them to pop up a little earlier!