Top Ten Gardening Resolutions for the New Year

I love gardening, enjoy getting dirt between my fingers and under my fingernails. I spend spring outdoors, planting every day that I have good weather and I often tell folks that my yard is a work in progress. This year, however, I have made a list of ten gardening resolutions, things I will do differently in the coming growing season.

First, I will focus more on edible items than on flowers. I love flowers, enjoy the sight and love the smell but this year, I plan to plant more vegetables so my family can eat healthy and save money. The tomatoes I planted last year did very well so I plan for more, along with other things that include pumpkins (which I have raised in the past), peppers, and maybe even potatoes.

Second, I plan to tend the perennials that I have and not buy so many new ones. Over the last three seasons that I have lived in my current location, I have added perennials every year, trees, shrubs, flowers, and such. This year, however, I am committed toward tending what I have, growing them, and focusing on the seasonal annuals for a change.

Third, I am going to be more organized in my planning. It's not too early to start receiving seed and plant catalogs from various companies. There is nothing I enjoy more on a cold, snowy, blustery winter day than to amuse myself with seed catalogs, planning next spring and summer's gardens while the winter is terrible.

Fourth, I want more heirloom seeds. Last year, I ordered several heirloom seeds for various vegetables and I was delighted with the results. Heirloom seeds are tried and true vegetables or flowers that have around a long, long time.

Fifth, I want to start a compost pile, something I can do right now without waiting for spring. Then I can use green, all natural products to fertilize my gardens this growing season.

Sixth, I want to go green. No pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, nothing but all natural and organic treatments for my garden this year.

Seventh, I plan to keep everything hoed and weeded better than ever before, devoting a set amount of time, minimum thirty minutes a day toward keeping everything up.

Eight, I vow to pick everything when ripe, not to let anything languish in the garden until it's over ripe or it's too late.

Nine, I plan to share the bounty, giving away the excess vegetables to friends and neighbors, to share floral bouquets, and to give what I grow to others.

Ten, I intend to plan meals around my fresh veggies, to help my family eat healthier meals that are grown right in our own backyard.

These are ways that I plan to make my garden better than ever this year, my top ten gardening resolutions for the New Year!