Grow Baby, Grow!

One of the most exciting and rewarding sustainable things at our home is our kitchen garden. Our garden is modest in size with very high ambitions! I’ve had four summers with the garden and each year I try something new. Though I read books, articles, blogs like an overachiever in a Harvard Law class, the truth is I usually just go with my gut. This is sometimes good…sometimes bad.

Planting a kitchen garden can be done anywhere. For my friends living the urban lifestyle fresh herbs, lettuce, even peppers can be grown indoors. Plant in a sunny window box or a few small planters on a window sill.

Do you have a small yard? Pick a spot, could be in the front, could be on the side and plant a tomato or a zucchini plant. Not only will you have the joy of eating the vegetables but the plants themselves create a beautiful rich landscape. Speaking of tomatoes, I generally plant 5 – 6 tomato plants because, well quite honestly, I love them. Sidebar: Plant what you love! You'll never see a celery stalk in my yard, want to know why? Because it is the devil's vegetable!! Oops, back to tomatoes. I choose different varieties. This year I included, two Black Krim and a Purple Cherokee, plus a tomatillo plant.

Always remember to be patient with your garden. I don’t use any commercial fertilizers because I do eat the food I grow and I want to know it is safe. I use the most amazing tools I have, my hands, to do all the weeding. In the spring I turn my soil and add organic compost to it. I use both the compost material I have on hand (leaves, grass clippings, etc) and manure. The first year I had old tree roots and rocks to contend with. There wasn’t a single worm to be found. But the area where my garden was hadn’t been planted in a long time, so I took a chance. My first year yielded an amazing amount of tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers and lettuce. In fact there was so much that in the fall we were picking green tomatoes for preserving. Two years ago I purchased and planted a blackberry bush, and waited and nurtured, and waited. This year is the first year with actual fruit!

Every year since the first the soil has become richer. The earthworms are more in abundance. And I’m contending with less roots and rocks. I don’t test my soil as so many blogs and books recommend. I look at it. The richness of your soil is very obvious, as is the ease of turning. This makes the red face, sore back and endless dirty socks so worth it!

If you're thinking now it is too late for you to venture into the world of kitchen gardening I will tell you I once completely would have agreed. Now I realize it is never too late. Vegetables and greens are amazingly versatile and can be planted at different times during the years. I just planted lettuce and pea seeds to harvest at the end of the summer beginning of fall.

Don’t be shy with your garden! Try different things. Include flowers with your veggies! Oh the power of a marigold! It is a natural bug repellent! I also have noticed a certain bunny is avoiding my garden this year now that I surrounded it with the marigolds. Plant flowering perennial herbs like chives in the corners of your garden. I love my chives and their purple puffs! I planted oregano in my front garden and it took off! Plus flowers will attract the right kinds of visitors like bees!