Our garden...

I should start out this post by saying that growing up, I spent every summer with my Grandparents. Other than taking one three day-trip every year, we never really did anything special, but those times at their house are some of the best things I remember about my childhood. Days flowed into one another, but I wasn't ever bored. They didn't treat me like a guest- I made my own bed, did chores, and entertained myself- and I tagged along with them to help with whatever work they had to do. Sometimes it was working on one of their rental houses. We would occasionally go to the woods and get a load of wood (or pick berries, or whatever else needed to be done.) My favorite thing to do, though, was to help my Grandad in the garden.



To me, it all looked so easy. I realize now how hard he really worked on it, though. It was HUGE, and he grew every veggie that came to mean summer to me- tomatoes, sweet corn, green beans, squash, eggplant, cukes, okra... and onions, butterbeans, field peas, collards and mustard greens; not to mention the gorgeous flowers. (He had the most eye-popping zinnias you can imagine, and he'd always bring my Grandma a bouquet, held together with a rubber band.) I loved the evening meals with all the fresh produce I'd helped to pick. In summer time, I can live off of fresh squash, sweet corn, maybe some snap beans, and a fresh sliced tomato. I thank my Grandparents for introducing me early on to the art of slow food (they didn't call it that back then, but it was their lifestyle.)



Of course, when I got all grown up and we moved out to the country, a garden was the first thing I wanted. If you've ever lived on garden fresh produce, cans and frozen veggies and even produce from the supermarket just never measure up. We were so enthusiastic and we went to planting with abandon... and every deer, rabbit, and coon in the neighborhood enjoyed our garden. The caterpillars and bugs liked it, too. I remember my Grandad patting me on the back and laughing at our first attempt. We did get a decent amount of food from it, but all in all, that first garden was a flop. Over the years we have gotten better, but we never have had a super nice garden like Grandad's.



This year we're doing something different- Square Foot Gardening. Raised beds with close spacing. So far, we're THRILLED with how it's working for us. We finally have that awesome looking garden I've always wanted, and I know that if my Grandad were here, that he would be proud. Weeding takes a few minutes... watering, a few more. And that's it. We are having a problem with cabbage worms, but we're committed to doing this organically, so we've just used a little diatomaceous earth and put the kids to picking off the crawlies. I definitely suggest that if you'd like to garden, buy the Square Foot Gardening book by Mel Bartholemew. It is worth every penny, and if you have a four by four foot space that gets some sun, you can have a square foot garden, no matter where you live.



So far we're just harvesting lettuces, chard, peppers, and a few strawberries, but soon we will have an abundance of fresh veggies. It's good to know where your food is coming from and how it was grown. It's also good for children to see that food is not something that comes in a box at the store, and for them to participate in growing it. I hope that by doing all of this, that Rob and I will help to spark the same love for healthy, home grown veggies in our kids that my Grandad and his garden sparked in me.