Day One

March 27, 2013

My journey starts at the curb.

Not only should this please the neighbors, but it is the first thing we see when we arrive home. I have a neglected bed of roses along the left side of the driveway. I used to have 12 rose bushes that I acquired and purchased over the years. Most of them I rescued from a friend who did not want to care for them. They were in a soggy, over watered bed at her house. Unfortunately, their new home is the most inconvenient place to water on my property. Many of them have died, the mulch overgrown and decayed. It is difficult to see where the bed stops and the weedy lawn begins.

So, I pruned the remaining bushes back, pulled out the weeds and freshened up the mulch with oak leaves. The oak leaves are free and I have an unending supply. A neighbor gave me these pieces of cement garden border a few weeks ago. So far, I have spent nothing but about an hour’s work. There are only 4 roses left so I will need to plant the rest of the bed with something to help sustain my family.

The mail arrived with a notice from our local utility company. We have new watering restrictions and can only water one day a week. This is an added inconvenience, but does not make it impossible. I have a rain barrel, but it is out back. I will just have to carry water around for now.

So, what to plant in the bed? I have a large pot with Rosemary and Lavender growing in it. They are quite large and would do nicely in that location. This bed receives morning sun instead of afternoon, but if I plant them towards the road they should receive the same amount. This will be a nice start. Perhaps I can plant more flowering hers to finish it off. I’ll see what is in my seed stash.

I also repaired and straightened our mailbox and post lamp. Both items had encounters with vehicles and were tilted and broken. I still need to do a bit of work on them, so pictures will come later.

We thank you Lord, for such a successful start. Thank you for beautiful weather, energy and plentiful resources. Please continue to bless my endeavor. Amen.

 

My Garden Stroll

All that rain has finally passed. Now I need to water again, since it is no longer being done for me J

But that does allow me to walk the garden each day. It helps me to stay on top of things like weeds and pests. And to enjoy my little successes .  As much as I would prefer to water from my rain barrel, one is not enough to keep up with a garden this size. Plus, it is too time consuming to water the entire back yard by hand. I attached a hose to the rain barrel so that I can water the plants closest to the house. But the pressure is really low. I found a big watering can at a yard sale for $1, that really helps

My lettuce is just getting started, but it is tall enough for me to go out and snip a few leaves to add to my salad for lunch. It seems to grow well in containers on my patio table, so now I am trying butter crunch in a hanging planter. I haven’t sampled it yet, but I have tried the romaine, oak leaf and red leaf, Yum!

Throughout my garden, I have planted marigolds for color and some natural pest control. I bought a flat of the most beautiful plants with multicolored blooms. I am also intrigued by the possibility of its use in herbal remedies.

Some of my plants amaze me they are doing so well. Others seem to be healthy, but don’t seem to be growing much or developing fruit. My banana trees look great but seem to have stopped growing. My tomatoes haven’t grown or changed since I put them in the ground (not even my volunteers). I had one surprise potato plant that came up on its own. I thought I had lost the entire crop last year, but apparently one survived. Guess I didn't till that bed well. 

My watermelons are a different story. If you think God doesn’t have a sense of humor, try to grow watermelon. Vines everywhere! Growing 8 – 10 feet from where they were planted, pretty little yellow flowers all over them and only one promising melon to show for it. I took this shot yesterday, it was the size of a small grapefruit. They have escaped their beds and grown across paths, through the banana trees, over the logs and up the chain linked fence. The one that has the melon on it grew through the enclosure that holds our pool pump and sprinkler system controls and sprouted a melon right under the electrical outlet. Now we have to be carefull when we plug in our pool pump. I tried so hard to plant things where they would not be in my husbands way of working, but the vine had other ideas J  

So now here I sit with a new bag of seed starting soil and 5 packets of seeds. Oh yeah, and Lowes has peach and apple trees on sale for $19.95!  Do I not know when to quit?! It’s hard to find the time to keep up with it all as it is. But I justify it by planning to go to my first plant swap downtown in a few weeks. But mostly, I imagine myself going out each day and picking fresh food for my son’s breakfast and lunch. Fresh food that I know did not have pesticides and chemicals sprayed on them. I don’t have to wonder how fresh it is or how far it traveled.  And I can be so proud of this partnership I have with the Lord.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children”       Ephesians 5:1 NIV

Gardening at Night

Gardening at Night

It’s been a really hot summer! Plus working full time and caring for a home and family doesn’t leave a lot of time for gardening. But the recent rains have helped keep things that I have planted going and also keep my rain barrel full. It’s nice to have water available without turning on the faucet

So, sometimes after dinner I douse myself with mosquito repellent and head outside, even after dark. Cooking dinner can sometimes be a depressing time. I get so frustrated with the cost, quality or both of the food available to us. So when I finish, I am inspired to work on my little farm with the hopes of growing food for my family.

Tonight it was my little corn seedlings.  I started nine of them on wet paper towels in a sandwich bag. These are heirlooms. I did not know there were heirlooms other than tomatoes.  This variety is fifty years old. Out of the seven seeds I started, seven of them had a sprout and long root after only a few days in the bag. I recently started tacking my seed bags up on the bulletin board while I wait for them to sprout. It works great!

After dishes were done tonight, I took my baggie off the board and headed outside. Having floodlights out back really help. I planted all nine seeds into soil in four inch pots. The two that did not sprout were swollen and I am pretty sure will sprout over the next day or two.

But I am getting so far behind! Those little corn plants are going to need a bed soon. I had a great weekend of trading with a new friend here locally and my daughter two counties north. Plus, I found some great buys on veggies at the home improvement store. From my friend, I got oyster plants, sage cuttings and a muscadine grape. From my daughter canna lilies, crinum lilies and a morning glory, plus more seeds than I can count. From the store I bought cauliflower, lettuce, green beans, cucumbers and latana and salvia for my butterfly garden. I really need to make beds for all those plants.  Makes me tired to think about it all. And I still haven’t started the coop!

But then I think of my family and what I want for our future. I imagine my grandsons visiting and exploring my garden with my son leading them. It’s my own bit of paradise. A dream of a new Eden. My little part of the earth God entrusts to my care. I can do this. A few minutes a day if need be. I’ve planted so much already, but it is growing. With every seed that sprouts, I am hopeful of a bountiful harvest.

And a new world for my children.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Stayed home sick today, but couldn’t stay down. Frequent trips to the throne room kept me agitated and unable to rest. So I walked outside to visit my garden.

I actually accomplished more, a few minutes at a time, than I do on a Saturday morning. Our swimming pool is completely out of balance with all the recent rainfall. So, I sprayed out the filters while my son picked up around the yard.

When I was able to sit down in the shade, I planted about 12 pumpkin seedlings into starter trays. After taking a break for rest and water, I sat near one of my planting beds and pulled weeds. While I was at it, I replanted some basil seedlings which had come up too close to the walkway. Later, I planted my Tarragon that had outgrown its pot. Now in the herb bed, I have basil, parsley, thyme, mint and tarragon.

Closer to the kitchen door, I have lavender, rosemary and a struggling sage plant. Seems I always have trouble with sage. Maybe I just need to find the right variety.

After lunch, I had a bit of energy, so my son and I loaded up the compost tumbler from the half full bin. Then we got the cart and transferred some leaves from the side yard to the back and divided them between the tumbler and the bin. We still had some left over so I used it as mulch here and there.

Well, all that activity was enough for me, so I came back inside and watched “Food inc.” If I wasn’t upset enough about our food before, I sure am now. But I know we are one the right track. We buy as much organic food as funds and availability will allow and I am starting to grow as much of our food as I can. Our chicken enclosure is built and my husband surprised me today with enough wood to finish the coop.

Along with the herbs, I have already planted blueberries, strawberries, lettuce, watermelon and cantaloupes. I also have avocado, loquat and banana trees and two different heirloom tomatoes in topsy-turvy planters.

Now I am getting ready to plant seeds for my fall garden.  With the seeds I saved from years past, the ones I have purchased plus the ones my friend shared with me, I could plant an acre! My garden tending time is limited to before and after work and weekends, but I love it! Walking along my plants keeps me grounded and gives me the quite time I need to spend with the Lord.

Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never know which will grow-perhaps they all will.                                                                                    Ecclesiastes 11:6