Farming in the Suburbs

OK, the garden.

I realize an update is long overdue, so here you go:



While John has gone above and beyond digging this garden and putting in a limestone border and stepping stones, I have dutifully bought just the right selection of plants for this time of year and quickly researched the correct plant placement in a garden of this particular size (which basically boils down to thumbing through multiple library books I borrowed, looking at the pretty pictures, then asking my dad, "So, how should I put these plants in this garden?").

Thank goodness for dads who know about gardening!

Then we planted the little vegetables: tomatoes, green and red bell peppers, zucchini and yellow squash.

And I would just like to say that so far? All those plants? They're still alive. A few of them might even be a bit bigger than they were two weeks ago. Thank you very much.

But just to stay humble, I admit that some of the leaves are turning yellow, most likely from over watering. Unfortunately, just as I decided to let up on the watering the sky decided to deluge my garden (and maybe the surrounding 100 square miles) with a torrential rain...for two days...or, you know, the rest of this week.

Come next weekend I will let you all know if the plants have survived.

Furthermore, I have re-planted herbs in my herb garden.



Except for the cilantro (which is, by the way, is also turning yellow!), I planted seeds. (OK, well, the oregano and rosemary have been in that bed practically since we moved into the house, so really I mean I planted basil and thyme seeds.)

Guess what?

Tiny basil and thyme plants are sprouting!!! And in case you're not catching the enthusiasm, I absolutely LOVE putting seeds in the ground and watching living things sprout right out of the dirt and grow into huge plants! It's fabulous!





Are you excited?!?

(The reason I'm so optimistic about the herbs is because I've done herbs before this way and it has always worked out. I imagine herbs are heartier than vegetables. We'll see if the vegetables prove themselves after all the water abuse.)

If the garden actually does produce something edible, I can guarantee grand schemes of farming the entire backyard will soon be in my head: strawberries, spinach, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, greens, peas, green beans, blueberries, corn. Heck, do you think we could start an orchard in the side yard? What about a farmer's market? Or a cafe? We could become professional farmers! Where would we put the chicken coop?

Umm, alright. Getting carried away. I'll just focus on my current crop's survival.

Can you call it a crop when there are only four vegetables?

If garden-talk isn't getting you excited, you might want to spend some time reading the great blogs being written right from India this week. I was especially moved by Anne's.