We are finally getting into one of my favorite times of the year: Garden time! This will be our 5th year building a garden, and we are planning some significant upgrades since we also just got chickens.
Why do I garden?
I love being able to control what goes into my food.
I want to be able to teach Spencer healthy habits and responsibilities.
I want to have the freshest food possible! Does it get any better than pulling a tomato fresh off the vine, wiping it on your shirt, and popping it into your mouth? The flavors of veggies are 1000x better than what you can pick up from a supermarket.
I want to control (avoid) the use of pesticides and chemicals in my food.
Yes, it is a TON of work, challenging and frustrating. Last year, we had a few rows of corn, which looked like it needed more time to grow. But we were so excited to have some fresh corn. So, I walked out the following day to check on things, and the damn corn was gone! Most likely a deer had a great meal! I was pissed, but we probably should have picked the corn the day before. This year, we will add more raised beds to the garden and wiring over the top, plus make a run for the chickens.
Back when we started our garden, we kept it simple. Tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, and kale. That was it. Every year we try and add more and learn how to grow different things. From peppers to broccoli, watermelon, zucchini, chard, peppers, pumpkins, tomatoes, a variety of herbs, cucumbers, squash, spinach, lettuce, radishes, kale, lima beans (unsuccessful so far), strawberries (another failure), blueberries (eek, still not winning), sugar snap peas, corn, and more. There is a ton of learning along the way, and none of it is perfect. But growing fresh veggies and fruits for about eight months out of the year is absolutely amazing. We have failed to take our fresh veggies and freeze them for winter, but that is part of my plan this year.
Now, it is learning how to take care of these chickens and getting fresh eggs each morning. (In about 6 months). If you are interested in starting a garden, you can keep it very simple at first, so it is not overwhelming. Making a raised bed and starting with lettuce and an herb or two (maybe something you frequently use to cook with) will be pretty easy and won’t take too much time and care. But, once you start getting a taste of real, fresh vegetables, you will be hooked as well. For all of you who currently, garden, what is your favorite thing to grow? For any of you who have chickens, any advice for our new adventure?
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