Call it deja vu, but haven't I already written about being excited to get out and garden only to find more winter snow at my door and on my soil? Ugh, old man winter just won't give it a rest this year. Thankfully the whole family embraced the one good weather day of the week (Monday) and we spent it out back prepping for our new vegetable garden and future home of the chicken coop.
I feel so lucky to have a great yard with plenty of space, but I also have a yard with quite a few limitations, if your interest is in growing things. It has very little sun, thanks to the many full grown trees. The soil goes from pure sand to pure clay in every direction with no discernible pattern. The sprinkler system is pretty outdated and some areas--such as the home of the future veggie garden- are skipped altogether. There is a lot to improve to make it workable but I plan to put my shoulder to the wheel and push along, if you know what I mean. We've got big plans! Check out our before and after shots on Monday...including what was left of the VERY massive pile of wood we had from cutting down 3 huge pine trees so we'd have more sun. we're getting there. If I never see another patch of vinca ground cover, it will be too soon!
Since mother nature isn't cooperating on the actual planting front, I've had my nose in Square Foot Gardening all week getting psyched up and planning what we'll plant. I like the old adage that you should only grow what you like to eat so I'm focusing on the obvious veggies (lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, peas, beets, carrots, cucumbers) but I'd also like to throw in a few things I'm just curious about trying like eggplant, nasturtium for the edible flowers, gourds, some kind of melon, and maybe cauliflower since I just discovered Cleo will eat it by the bowlful. I will also be planting a hefty amount of basil and arugula since I like both so very much and have my reputation as salad master to maintain.
In my dream world I'd like to skip right to the heirloom varieties and the quirky stuff like white asparagus and purple carrots but something tells me that I should embrace my novice status and grow the tried and true until I get the hang of it. I am excited to have fun with it and get all old time-y and start talking about the snails eating my cabbage and worrying about the wilt in my tomatoes. Maybe I'll even be one of those people who go out with a flashlight in the middle of the night, sure they hear the slugs munching away on their hard won harvest. My dream, and this is top secret folks, has always been to enter something into the State Fair. I love every inch of the fair, I do, and every year Jaren and I vow that this will be the year for our perfect rose or bunch of basil. I am hopeful that with a bounty in my backyard this just may turn out to be my year.
Another thing that has gotten me through a snowstorm on April 15 is Roots Shoots Buckets and Boots, a book dedicated to gardening with children. The book is full of great ideas for creating specific child themed gardens such as a pizza garden, a moon garden, and a sunflower house. But my favorite things are the little factoids and tips about making gardening accesible and fun for kids. Things like telling the temperature by cricket chirps or making a moth broth to attract beneficial moths to your yard captivated me so I know my kids will eat up this kind of knowledge. The idea to create an explorer kit was one of my favorites and I'll be doing this for Cleo this weekend so more on that later. But what I love most, and the book really capitalizes on, is that the potential for kids to love to garden is there, I mean, what could be more like magic than planting a hard, dry thing in dirt and seeing it sprout green within days? Plus the thought of Cleo knowing at 5 what it really takes to grow the food she eats is one of those parenting and life lessons I really want to impart. I desperately hope both Cleo and Flynn will enjoy being out there all summer since like it or not, that is probably where they will be!
I wanted to share this amazing video my sister Amy sent me about a California family's decision to turn their very small residentail lot into a working farm. It is inspiring to see what they were able to grow in a tiny space and I also loved their comment that one of the most radical things we can do these days is to grow our on food. In doing this we are taking back a piece of what has been taken away from us and our culture. Let me know what you think...and start day dreaming about summer!
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