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Cleaning Up the Side Garden

By Mavis Butterfield on January 10, 2016 · 9 Comments
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growing swiss chard

Maybe I’m a little weird, but January and February are some of my favorite months to work in the garden. November and December are all about family, what’s happening inside the house and food, food, food.  So by the time the new year rolls around I am itching to get outside and play in the dirt.

swiss chard strawberries lucy puggle

Last February I installed a mini side garden. My original plan was to have a row of boxwood hedges with an assortment of herbs growing in front of the shrubs and some strawberry plants along the rock border.

cleaning up side garden

All was going well until around early March. I had moved the boxwoods into place, planted 25 {or was it 50?} tristar strawberry plants and was then left with a giant blank space staring back at me. It was too cold to set out the herb seedlings I was growing under my grow lights in the laundry room, so I finally caved in a planted some Swiss chard, beets and cabbage plants in the shady garden spot alongside the house.

wheel barrow

While I was pulling up the Swiss chard plants the other day I started to wonder if I should attempt a herb garden in the side yard again this year or if I should just stick to cold weather crops again. After all, the beets, chard and lettuce I planted in the mini garden area grew so well this past year I’d hate to mess with a good thing.

side garden strawberry plants

The area doesn’t get a whole lot of sun thanks to the towering cedar and pine trees nearby {and what a mess those are!}. Waiting to plant in early spring, is torture. And it gets the best of me every single year.

What do you think?

Should I stick to my little plot for my cold weather veggies, or attempt a herb garden this year?

~Mavis

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Comments

  1. RebeccaW says

    January 10, 2016 at 7:44 am

    I think it is wonderful to have a spot dedicated to cool weather crops – – – put the herbs on the patio where they will be closer to the kitchen. I am moving to a house that has a lot of shade and am going to try your idea there 😀

    Reply
  2. Linda says

    January 10, 2016 at 11:06 am

    No garden work here in Minnesota as it is 10 below and snow on the ground

    Reply
    • Mavis Butterfield says

      January 10, 2016 at 1:40 pm

      Yikes!

      Reply
  3. Erika says

    January 10, 2016 at 11:29 am

    I would still plant your winter veggies, but maybe plant a couple herb plants to see how they grow. And if the herb plants do well this year go ahead and plant more herbs next year! I can’t wait to get my hands in the dirt in spring!

    Reply
    • Mavis Butterfield says

      January 10, 2016 at 1:40 pm

      I think I’ll do a little research and see what herbs grow well in the shade.

      Reply
  4. sclindah says

    January 10, 2016 at 1:19 pm

    I would stick with the cold weather crops and lettuce that doesn’t require as much sunlight. That sounds perfect. . .

    But, maybe you could do some perennial herbs and cilantro which likes cooler weather. I’m amazed that my thyme, parsley, oregano, and sage are still going strong in my herb bed and will probably winter over.

    Reply
  5. Shannon says

    January 10, 2016 at 7:27 pm

    Go for the cold weather crops. You’ll get some variety in your diet, it will benefit the planting area because you are rotating crops and you can always just go back to what it was before if you don’t like it.

    Reply
    • Mavis says

      January 11, 2016 at 6:32 am

      Love your reasons! So true!

      Reply
  6. Lisa Millar says

    January 11, 2016 at 3:49 am

    Do you have your own seed collected for herbs?? If you are not spending out $$ why not try? Whats the worst that can happen? Sacrifice a few seeds?
    The best?? Beautiful herbs to raid for dinner! 🙂
    I am forever putting in things or trying to grow summer vegies over winter so I have a spring head start and have had some successes!! I just like to test the ideas out.
    I suppose all your tomato plants are gone?? I took a couple of laterals and grew them over winter inside then put them in the hothouse early spring. One survived and is now a towering beast with tomatoes everywhere!! Worth the effort!! 🙂

    Reply

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