Monday, July 6, 2009

How Can You NOT?

How can you NOT plant a garden? It's so fun to live off your own land, and it's not that hard to do, and it's organic! I've only been gardening for about 4 years, but it has been rewarding.

Take strawberries, for instance. You only have to plant some once and then they multiply for you. If you are thinking about planting some, choose the ever-bearing so you'll get fruit all summer long. I didn't do that and wish I had.

Behold one of the harvests I reaped this year. There's nothing like walking out into your backyard and going to pick a snack. Here's the backyard snacking schedule I look forward to each year:

April & May: Sugar Snap Peas
May & June: Strawberries
June & July: Raspberries
July through October: Tomatoes

That's not counting all the other great veggies I like to plant: lettuce, onions, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, etc. This year I am growing chamomile (see below), and while I don't plan to make tea with it, I do enjoy the flowers whose petals fold down rather than up at night. It's so cute to me for some reason.



If you run out of sunny spots in your yard in which to plant, get creative. Ray cut this hole into our deck, filled it with dirt for me, and VOILA! It now contains a bunch of tomato plants. I overplanted, because I am a new gardener and never really know which ones will make it. Besides, Maddie walks around and eats all the tomatoes she can find--whether or not they're ripe. So we need lots.

[In case you wondered about our deck, it is old and decaying, and we have been thinking about ripping it out for several years now. For now, though, it beats building another garden box! Next year I'm going to have Ray cut out another garden strip in the deck for me! This year we hope to get a little sandbox area cut out for Maddie in the deck as well. :)]

2 comments:

Suzi Q said...

I miss you friend.

mschenk said...

1. Maddie is getting so big! I can't wait to see her (I am coming again in January).
2. I am good, except that I miss you a lot.
3. If you cut a sand box and another garden out of the deck you will have it almost tore out anway. You should cut out all the edges and the middle and then leave a square of deck to walk through your garden on....
4. i love you,
5. a lot