How does your garden grow?

Here we go! Here's the start to my 2009 garden plans. First off I will be doing a square foot garden based on Mel Bartholomew's book All New Square Foot Gardening. I figure this is the best way to maximize the little bit of space I have in my backyard. I hope to do between 4 and 6 4'x4' beds filled with veggies and herbs.

I am also choosing to do a completely organic garden. I feel it's best to exclude as many chemicals as possible in my family's food, and it all starts in the garden. With non-hybridized seeds, I can also save my seeds from year to year, so long as I learn how to do this!

Here are some companies that sell organic seeds (put your catolog requests in now):
High Mowing Seeds (100% organic) (This is where I'll probably order the bulk of my seeds.)
Seeds of Change (100% organic)
Fedco Seeds
Turtle Tree Seeds (bio-dynamic seeds)

I've also heard that a great product to spray on your plants weekly is Neptune's Harvest Fish Fertilizer. You can also add fresh seaweed from the beach to your compost. Make sure it's cut from the rocks at low tide. You don't want the washed up seaweed.

I'll make my soil mixture from coarse vermiculite, peat moss, and compost. Two great local brands of bagged compost mix available are Coast of Maine and Vermont Compost Company. Supposedly you can get big bags of coarse vermiculite for a decent price at Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supply out of Massachusetts.

So I guess you now have some homework to get started on. Find a copy of Square Foot Gardening and order a few seed catalogs. We're going to have great gardens this year!