Into The Belly of the Beast We Go

I spent much of yesterday morning shopping greenhouse supplies online. This after spending much of the previous day trying to draw up the planting plans for this spring. I came away from that exercise with much the same conclusion as every other year; it can be rather succinctly summed up as: what the hell have I gotten myself into?

There’s never enough room, you know; for all I want, need, absolutely MUST grow. And the seed stash only continues to grow itself, adding to my dilemma. I’ve reduced the number of tomato varieties by more than half this year. We’re growing a measly — but exciting, more on that garden geekery another day — five varieties. Compare that to the usual eleven or twelve and you’d think I’d be rolling in extra space, but for reasons I still don’t entirely grasp that’s not quite so. Which means, it’s time to expand. Again. Even though I said there would be no expansions this year; even though I promised my sanity there would only be maintaining.

It’s my fault, really. I set the tone before the new year even began, ordering five dozen more onion plants than we grew last year for starters. They don’t take up much room though; onions. They’re rather compact and some will be harvested for green onions so they hardly count. And yes, that’s precisely how I justified it to myself as I clicked the “add to cart” button again and again.

And then came the beans. I love beans. I mean I really, really love beans. Green beans and yellow beans and purple beans and shell beans of various sorts for chilis and soups and refrying. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. This year I found seeds for 18 inch long pole beans that are bright red. Of course I had to buy a packet. Or two.

All the old standbys will be welcomed back, of course, and several other new varieties — some that I’ve been meaning to try and others that I’ve only just discovered — will be brought on board. Try-outs in the garden can be brutal, but we seem to find a few new keepers every year. I’m still trying to find a permanent spot for the herbs and a sizable strawberry patch. And so a greenhouse seemed as good a mode of expansion as any other, and in many ways even better.

I’m looking at a sixteen by twenty-four foot model and wondering if I’ve lost my mind or finally found it. I lean towards the latter, but maybe we should reserve judgement until this time next year when I realize that a greenhouse means both gardening year-round and gardening year-round. Maybe I like my winter breaks.

*Yes, I am shamelessly using crappy Instagram pics in my blog posts. Thank you for noticing.

Tagged as: 2012, gardening, Greenhouse, Hoop House, Plans, Spring