I start planning my vegetable garden between Christmas and New Year’s. Part of that effort is to check my seed supply. I order seeds from several seed companies in early January- generally onion/leek seeds as those don’t last long in seed storage. I do save seeds but there are some that I won’t save because I can’t verify they haven’t crossed and created something inedible (cukes and zukes).

I take advantage of any nice day from January to March to make sure my garden beds are doing fine. Seed starting begins in late February if I’m patient. I used to start inside the house but now have a greenhouse.

April is that time of year where I’m harvesting the last of the chard, kale, parsley and celery that’s overwintered. It’s almost ready to go to seed, and the replacement plants are either in the ground or are in a holding pattern. I’m currently dehydrating a ton of chard and kale and parsley, and freezing celery in a mirepoix.

I’m watching the overnight temps to see when I can plant out my tomatoes. It’s a fun balance between ‘should I pot up or can they hang on’ with a side of ‘I really need the room on my greenhouse tables to pot up the shit ton of flower starts’.

I’m always pressure canning some meat from the freezer at this point and considering whether or not to can some marinara sauce with last year’s tomatoes. Got to clear out the chest freezer for this year’s harvest even if it is months away.

I’m just a backyard gardener. I keep chickens. With more effort, I could grow more. I already share extra eggs and veggie starts and veggies with family, coworkers and neighbors. Not sure if that makes me a target eventually but I enjoy the community that it brings.