Not Quite What I was Aiming For

But I think it still counts as progress. My husband was home for dinner yesterday and it was still light out when we finished. So, we took a tour of the side yard where the garden will live some day. Unfortunately he nixed any grand ideas I had for actually beginning that garden this year. But all is not lost.

Along the fence line around the side yard the previous owner had a flower garden. It had been taken over with weeds during the housing transition, most of which we have pulled out.  There are still some plants here and there – three Rose of Sharons and some others we can’t identify. My husband said he would move one of the Rose of Sharons and tasked me to clear the corner where we want the compost. That means I have to identify those things and figure out what to do with them.

In the meantime, there is plenty of space to plant some veggies, where we have cleared the weeds out. So, I have every intention of doing just that this weekend. Now, I just have to decide what to plant.

It’s Time, It’s Time!

Actually, here in Texas, I’m already behind the curve. But I’m just itching to get out there and start digging and planting. So, since I got to go to the library by myself today, I browsed through the gardening books. It’s looking like this will be a “me, myself, and I” project – well, me & the kid – so I felt I needed some help. I’ve never done the from scratch part. Right now, where the garden will be, is lawn, grass. Yeah, I don’t know what to do with that. My husband always does that part. But, since he’s completely consumed with work and March is over this week, I have to get in there and figure out how to get started. I found a nice stack of books that look like they will be helpful.

The one I started looking at this evening is absolutely hilarious. I am literally laughing out loud while I read. It’s The 20 Minute Vegetable Gardener (Gourmet Gardening for the Rest of Us) by Tom Christopher & Marty Asher. Check out the “Pledge of Allegiance” (minus the explanations):

1. The 20-minute gardener makes every minute count by growing high-impact crops.
2. The 20-minute fruit and vegetable gardener gauges success not by the size of the crop but by the amount of pleasure it delivers.
3. The 20-minute fruit or vegetable must offer a significant improvement over the store-bought alternative.
4. Twenty-minute gardeners don’t fight Nature (they know who will win that battle).
5. Twenty-minute gardeners plant in rows only when planning to harvest by tractor.
6. Twenty-minute gardeners nurture their dirt.
7. Twenty-minute gardeners don’t weed. . . they never let weeds into their gardens.
8. The 20-minute gardener never applies anything to his garden that he would be afraid to get on his hands.
9. The 20-minute gardener can do this because she rarely has to confront bugs.
10. The 20-minute gardener recognizes that the hose is his most important gardening tool, and so wields it with the care it deserves.
11. Mellow gardeners grow better-tasting vegetables.

I can’t wait (rubbing hands together in anticipation).

Here’s a list of the other books I checked out that look helpful, but I haven’t begun to read yet:

• Dirt Cheap Gardening – Hundreds of Ways to Save Money in Your Gardenby Rhonda Massingham Hart
• Texas Gardening – Vegetablesby Dr. Sam Cotner
• Gardening with Children by Beth Richardson
• The Budget Gardener – Twice the Garden for Half the Priceby Maureen Gilmer
• An Illustrated Guide to Organic Gardening – How to Garden in Harmony with Nature by the Editors of Sunset Books

One should be able to find similar books in the local library, if not these. Definately look for the 20-minute gardener. That looks to be a fun read, and tremendously helpful to little ‘ol me. While I’m on the subject, I picked up another wonderful book from Paperback Swap on Herb Gardening: Herbal Remedy Gardens – 38 Plans for Your Health & Well-Being by Dorie Byers. So many ideas and so little time (not to mention budget). None-the-less, I hope to be able to report some progress this time next week. Happy digging in your little plot of the world!

Start Planning that Garden

Well, we can’t do that just yet as we’ll be moving again this summer. But it is definately something I have had on my mind lately. I hope, hope, hope our next abode has space for a garden. Especially after reading this article: Bio-Intensive Mini Gardens — Recipe for Survival.

I had a little bitty garden when we lived in St. Louis years ago. I grew the basics – tomatoes, zuccini, cucumbers, etc. But lately, with e-coli scares and other worrisome goings on in the world, I’ve thought on a grander scale about sustainability. The above article gives me a wee bit of hope – maybe it is possible without having several acres - to grow a substantial amount of food for my family, lessening our dependance on a less than ethical food industry.