Things I learned about my garden this winter

1) It's not big enough. 

2) No matter how daunting the gazillions of onion seedlings are,  I must transplant them all into the garden.  I was purchasing onions from the store (gasp!) a month ago because we were out of the home grown supply.

3) Now that Glenn is hooked on Brushetta, I have to make sure I freeze more oil/basil ice cubes.  A 1 gallon bag has proven inadequate to get us through the winter.

4) 2 gallon sized bags of frozen breaded green tomato slices are not enough.  Not by far.  I fried some up for lunch today and almost shed a tear when I saw how few slices were left in the last bag.  {Try these on a kaiser roll with bacon or proscuitto and munster cheese, a little mayo and ranch.  Toast the whole thing to melt the cheese and meld the flavors, add baby spinach or sprouts and groan in contentment with the first bite.}

5) Someone requires at least four times the amount of spinach and collards that I canned for him this year.   I should also freeze some this year for use in quiches.

6) We have a huge old chest freezer that was left here by the previous owners.  We're afraid to fill it and use it in case it dies on us just like the old fridge did.   So instead we'll put it in the unheated root cellar to store certain crops for use all winter long -- which means I can plant more of those crops. 

7) Thanks to a new books I bought myself the other day, Stocking Up,  Best Ever Slow Cooker, One Dish & Casserole Recipes, and The Joy of Pickling I now have ways to use all the oddball stuff that I've grown for years, but never knew how to use it.  So now I can plant more of those crops as well.

8) Potatoes are a must this year.  I simply didn't have the room for them last year.

9) I need to plant more broccoli and peas.   I only had enough for fresh eating last year and would love to have some for freezing this year.

10) Mugwort has no place in the veggie garden. 

11) Plant pineapple tomatillos in their own small 1.5'x1.5' raised bed and lay a tarp or plastic under them when the fruits start to ripen.  Eventually I will become to old, arthritic, and impatient to play twister with those monsters.

12) I never need to plant Roman chamomile again.  I have volunteers coming up under 2" of snow and straw right now.  Same with catnip.

13) The orchard needs to be put in this year without a doubt. There are simply too many recipes and so little time.

14) More frozen strawberries and raspberries are a MUST.   I can't tell you how in love I am with freshly made berry sauce on French toast.  Oh my.

15) It's not big enough.  Duh.