Angry Man Farm 2022 – IT BEGINS

In case you happen to be new to this old blog, Angry Man Farm is simply our garden. Many years ago WM and I noticed that farms have such lovely, bucolic names like Lone Pine Farm or Running Horse Farm. If we had a farm, it would be Angry Man Farm.

But we don’t have a farm, we have a vegetable garden that seems to be more work than yield but every March I dive in as if I have forgotten the aphids, rabbits, drought, rot, frost, and wind that conspire against me every year.

And it is March.

This year rather than plant one type of vegetable per bed I’m going to mix the vegetables together in the beds, hoping that each plant has different needs from the soil and they’ll grow together instead of competing for the same nutrients. I’m also adding in Nasturtium, which are flowers that are rumored to attract aphid to themselves, and Borage, which is supposed to attract pollinators and repel hornworms. My basil and dill will also be growing in the main beds this year.

Last weekend I started some onions inside. I’ve never successfully grown onions, but that has never stopped me from trying.

I purchased a larger raised garden bed from Wayfair that I’ll use for lettuce and some herbs.

On Sunday, I planted jalapeno and sweet bell peppers, five (!) varieties of tomatoes, basil, and parsley. I used to start the seedlings in the guest room, but with my MIL moved in, I had to think outside the box. This year the seedlings are in the garage, snugged up on a heated mat to keep them warm.

Here is the sketched out the plan:

Snap peas will be going up the trellis this year, and I’m going to grow the cucumbers in pots with tomato cages. Radishes, beets, carrots, and onions will be in pots as well. Will we have success with this new, integrated system? Maybe? Will I be satisfied this year? Probably not. Stay tuned!

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In other news, we’ve had a stomach bug hit us. My MIL had it Friday into Saturday, recovered Sunday night. WM had it Sunday into Monday, went back to work this morning. And I … am waiting. You’d think I’d have caught it last night into this morning but as of this writing on Wednesday morning … nothing! Which is worse, catching something like that as a surprise, or waiting to catch it? I’m not certain anymore.

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