Vegetables are Growing: Pride (and Shame) at Our Helping Hands Plot

I've been really absorbed (and perhaps a bit lost) in a lot of goings-on lately, with children, work, cooking, gardening, trying to spend time with my husband, and bracing for some big lifestyle changes that are coming at us over the next year or so.  It seems to me that summer might not always be the most productive period for this little blog, but I wanted to share a few photos from our community garden plot (and a half) as the season is now really underway.

You can tell by those super long shadows that it is pretty late in the evening!  My plot is the one at the back just beyond the wheelbarrow.  The plot in the middle is one of the food pantry plots, and this one in the foreground is a plot I am sharing with my sister.  Her seeds were just recently planted on the left, and I planted some seriously discounted late-in-the-season eggplant, Roma tomatoes, and canteloupe transplants on the right-hand side, then surrounded them with wood chips.

This is a view of my beloved plot.  Those trellises are for pumpkin, butternut squash, and zucchini.  I realize that they are likely not big enough and may not work, but it was my first year and I was trying to cram as many plants into a small plot as was humanly possible.  I'll let you know how it goes!  Note the un-mulched section on the right.  I'll give a close up of it next  (this is where the shame comes into the post)...

OK so this is my weed patch, otherwise known as the section I planted spinach, swiss chard, carrots, broccoli, and herbs.  Why does it look like I am nurturing lambsquarters, dandelions, and some random feral-oregano-type-herb-intruder?  Well, when it was tilled this year (the very first time in probably ever since the park was established) there were a lot of small clods of sod left in the garden.  I took the biggest ones out, but left the smaller ones to (a) keep some biological matter in the soil to break down and (b) when I took the clods out I lost a lot of dirt that I wanted for planting.  Unfortunately, since most of these weeds are attached to the clods, when I pull a weed out I get a big old chunk of garden with it.  I didn't want to disturb the seeds, so I sort of let the weeds go crazy.  No I really have to spend some serious time with it since my other plants are barely coming up and having to compete with some much tougher garden companions.  Oops.

Clockwise from top left: zucchini, bush pickle cucumber, butternut squash, and pumpkin.  What is the deal with bush pickle (from the name, I would assume it is supposed to grow like a BUSH) being all vine-y and not bushlike at all?  Now I am realizing I squished it in between peas and eggplant because I thought it would grow up, not out.  Lesson learned.  The pumpkin is doing really well, the zucchini not so awesome but those transplants were in need of a little love when I bought them, and my precious organic butternut squash that I grew from seed and looked like it would die a terrible, lonely, neglected death, have come back and are doing really well, even if they are smaller than the others.  Yay!

It's like "Where's Waldo" looking for desirable plants in the weed patch, but here are some broccoli, swiss chard, spinach, peas (actually they're not lost in that patch, they're being smothered by non-bush-like bush pickle cucumbers farther down) and some precious little carrot seedlings.

Exciting and healthy!  Eggplant (first time growing, probably will be my first time eating, actually) and I love those fuzzy leaves!  Tomatoes: planted better boy, lemon boy, beefsteak and Roma and they all look super happy and are growing well; red bell peppers, and corn.  Fun!  I don't care if the corn doesn't do well but thought it would be fun to try and it'll be one of very few veggie varieties the children will actually eat.

Wheelbarrow with my poor little guy's snow shovel in it.  His real little shovel is at my parents' cottage, so he had to make do with this less-than-efficient one when helping me shovel shavings into the wheelbarrow and then onto the garden beds.  Do you appreciate the edge of my finger in the corner of the shot?  I thought so.  Bet you wish you could take stellar photos like I can!

Dancing gardener boy is still excited after a long hour of hard work and dances his way home to bed.  I love this little helper!

This post is shared with the Little House in the Suburbs Linky, The Homestead Barn Hop #70 on Homestead Revival and Frugal Days, Sustainable Days.

Gardening Update

We're into May now, and the snow is permanently gone; even if there's still a chance we'll see more flurries (like we did earlier in the week!), at least we know that it won't stick around.  As we inch our way into prime gardening weather, I thought I'd give a little update on what's happening around here in terms of seedlings, planting, tidying, etc.

I think things are going pretty well with the seed starting, considering it is my first year and some of the seeds were getting a little old.  The pumpkin seeds, which were fresh, have done amazingly well and I probably have too much success based on the space I have available!  But too many pumpkins isn't a bad thing, as I'm really looking forward to having my own fresh pumpkin purée for baking this coming year.  Muffins, breads, cakes and pies!  Yum.  Also, since we'll all be helping out with the food pantry garden at our new community garden, I'll just "donate" my extra seedlings and seeds to that space.  If everyone does that, I don't even think we'll have to find seed donations this year.

Happy pumpkin seedlings.

A quick note about the toilet paper rolls for seed starting.  In a way, they worked great.  Awesome for the tomatoes and basil, and the pumpkins did well too, but I did have a little problem with them. Since the pumpkin seedlings are vastly larger than the others, they established big root systems much more quickly.  Those strong, happy root systems, while great for the pumpkins, weren't so great for the tomatoes and basil--they came out the bottoms of the toilet paper rolls, along the tray, and up into the tomato and basil rolls.  I wondered why the basil was taking so long to get going, even though it germinated quickly and I think it was because it was essentially being parasitized by the pumpkins.  So I would suggest that a) you use newspaper pots for the larger vegetables that you start inside, or b) at least keep them in a different tray from the "little guys" to give them a better chance.  My basil seems to have made a comeback, but it's definitely slow going.

Recovering and finally moving along.  Poor little things!

Ah, my love--you and I will spend lots of tender moments together.

I have had pretty good success with the tomatoes.  The only thing that is really disappointing, is that due to lower germination rates/invasion by monster pumpkin roots, I only have four toilet paper rolls with healthy tomato seedlings in them.  This isn't so bad, I'm just happy to have any doing well and I can always buy seedlings at the garden centre until I become a better baby seedling raiser.  However, all the rolls that are doing well have two seedlings in them, and I have to pinch one back in each.  I thought about unwrapping the paper and teasing the two plants apart to keep all eight of the seedlings, but I'm afraid I'd damage them and end up with less than four.  So I'm going to grit my teeth, pinch those precious treasures back, and be happy that I have four organic San Marzano tomato plants this year.

I've also started planting some cold-hardy things outside.  We don't have a lot of growing space around our house, so I'm just doing a little here and there until we get the community garden tilled and established and planted.  Yesterday I put some soil into a few pots that Craig found when he cleaned out our shed (bless his heart) and planted Swiss chard in one and spinach in the other, with help from my ever-ready young helper.  I missed getting a photo of him doing it though (he particularly liked the funny shape of the chard seeds).  But I did get his sister, who came along to inspect his work after the fact.

Yes, my baby wears a bicycle helmet ALL the time.  More on that later. :)

James also made himself quite useful digging up a no-longer-wanted perennial bed.  This is the year of decluttering, getting organized and getting rid of responsibilities that I am not keeping up with, nor care to.  That means you, perennials.  When we moved in, our property was gorgeous and full of vibrant floral beauty.  Our terrible neglect of those beds has meant that we have often teetered on the precipice of a trashy property, and we've been trying to reduce the amounts of areas we have to weed and maintain.  So the giant, curved bed out front, full of all sorts of perennials as well as weigela and sand cherry bushes, is gone.  James decided to mow the soil before helping his dad sprinkle grass seed on the now bare earth and giving it a drink from the hose.

The boy was working hard, and representing. :)

So we still have lots of work cut out for us this year, but I feel pretty happy with what we've accomplished so far and where we're headed.  Hopefully we'll have a successful first vegetable garden!  And we'll spend a lot of time together as a family, being active, responsible, having fun, and loving each other in the process.

This post is shared with Garden Life Link-Up at No Ordinary Homestead.

A Little Love for Planet Earth and the Outdoors

In our house, Earth Day (April 22nd) is a real holiday.  Not something you notice when you are reading the paper that morning and there is a fleeting mention of energy consumption or trees planted by local schoolchildren, but a holiday that we, as a family, observe.  For me, it comes third only after the faith-based biggies, Christmas and Easter.  Well, Thanksgiving is pretty important too, but I think of Earth Day as another thankfulness kind of holiday too.  Making a point to appreciate this gorgeous world that God so graciously gave us, and remembering that He also gave us a responsibility to look after it.  So today, on Earth Day, please make an effort to consume less, think more, and spend time outside enjoying our Earth with your family.

We celebrated yesterday, as the weather forecast for today was rainy and we wanted to make the most of the sunshine.  We went out to the National Park for a picnic lunch and a family hike, and it was beautiful.

Craig helping Sus eat her sandwich.

Loves his banana chocolate chip muffin!

Wants her independence but is not interested in touching the grass, so needs a hand getting back up!

Oooh!  I just touched it!!

Having a little rest, that pack is heavier than it looks!

Cozy and safe, and a great view to boot!

James loved running down the steep boardwalk.

There's a fly on my hand!  (I loved his reaction, joy, not fear or disgust!)

Why I Hope to Homestead

I've always been a bit of a romantic when it comes to imagining my ideal lifestyle.  Softly edged images, like watercolour paintings, have floated through my imagination since I was a girl.  These are not at all a new occurrence, but desires woven together from experience in my own home growing up, settings in favourite novels, and the lives and properties of friends and family.  Some of the images that come to mind now but that have been a part of me for years include:

-a silver tabby cat (preferably with six toes on each foot) sitting on a windowsill surrounded by African violets in a warm, gently lit kitchen, looking out at the frosty winter evening

-the smell of homemade gingerbread baking in the oven while you sit in front of a fireplace under a handmade quilt reading a novel, or the Bible, or writing in a journal

-the adorably nasal sound of a red-breasted nuthatch foraging in the conifers off to the side of your property while you stroll through the trees

the bright red stain of strawberry juice on your fingers as you hull pound after pound of the delightful morsels in order to make strawberry jam, or pie, or shortcake

-the warm scent and peaceful, welcome sound of horses munching on hay in a quiet barn in the evening

-the burst of flavour and juice in your mouth from a cherry tomato freshly plucked from your own plants

I could list these forever.  Now that I have children, I have even more images in my head and my heart, such as:

-the expression of wonder on James' face as he holds a fluffy, yellow, day-old chick in his own small hands

-Susannah's laughter as she watches the antics of young goats playing, or hens having a dust bath in our yard

-the glint of sunlight off their hair as they run through a sweetly smelling field of red clover under a blue sky

-the learning and valuable experience that would be theirs, knowing that they can grow their own food and help me prepare it in the kitchen.

Some of these images can easily come to life without actually actively seeking to establish a homestead.  But how much more satisfying would that strawberry jam be, if we grew and picked the berries ourselves? Would the frosty winter scene outside the kitchen window be even more beautiful if the snow dusted a barn, and fence posts, and lovingly planted fruit trees as opposed to the parked cars of our suburban neighbours?  For a romantic like me, who grew up in the country, the answer is yes.

Having grown up in the country, and having had big vegetable gardens and a Belgian gelding to look after and having done some preserving on my own already, I know that the experiences aren't always magical.  They can be dirty, they can be exhausting, they can be frustrating.  I didn't love weeding my parents' vegetable garden.  Anything but, in fact.  That handsome gelding created hefty quantities of manure that needed to be cleaned out of the barn (I didn't mind that chore at all though, although it was an awful lot of work!).  Preserving can be hot, frustrating work when you're hulling pounds and pounds of berries in the heat of July while your entire family goes to the beach and leaves you with them by yourself (sorry about that day, Mamma!).

But as I've grown, I've experienced educational institutions, the simplistic but beautiful life I had in Costa Rica, the frustrations and satisfaction of various jobs, the on-going joy of motherhood, the pride and the disappointment in the way our society is governed, and the financial responsibility of owning a home and raising a family.  I've come to crave that ability to sustain a family while bringing each member closer to the others, of growing food and growing hope and love and confidence and thankfulness, of caring for my loved ones and caring for the earth.  A life of raising strong, loving, responsible children who respect the world around them and are aware of and thankful for their food sounds like the most rewarding life I could imagine.  Sharing that with my husband and providing for all of them while doing what I love?  Spending my spare time with plants, with animals, with fresh produce grown steps from my own kitchen?  Seeking to better understand the natural world and our place in it?  Teaching my children self-sufficiency and respect for others in a setting where they can practice those skills every day?

It seems impossible not to strive for this life.

This post is linked to Homestead Barn Hop #51