Looking Forward, Looking Back

Making this blog has made me very excited about this year's garden. So of course I had to look at my garden photos from years past. This is a picture of one of my tomatoes last year. Everything was going well. I had made it through some early blight and aphids. Then...EARLY FROST! It was so heartbreaking. A whole season's worth of work withered to the ground. I had tried covering them, but to no avail.

Part of the reason for this unfortunate incident is that I forget to plant things on schedule. There are a few good resources you can use to get your seeds going at the right time. I like the Farmer's Almanac online. If you go to http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates you can enter your location and find a good starting point for when to plant your seeds. This site also will tell you moon-favorable dates for planting. You do need to sign up, but it is free and there is a lot of fun tips and information here. Another great resource for planting information is Skippy's Vegetable Garden. Go to http://bioarray.us/Skippy%27s%20planting%20calendar.html and you will find a handy planting schedule that is in order by date. I like this because I don't have to worry about missing something or becoming overwhelmed. I just do what I am supposed for that day. This season I am looking forward to taking advantage of the longer growing season here in Albuquerque. I will have ripe tomatoes!