how does your garden grow?

not much now, i do plan on expanding

I’m fairly confident that no one has ever looked at me and got the impression that I was much of if at all, a gardener.  I’ve killed more plants in my life than I’ve kept alive.  A small pine sapling, a rosemary bush, two basil plants, a whole planter box of dill, english mint, sage, and lastly a lemon tree which despite constant blooming, after three years it never grew any fruit.  I don’t believe in green or black thumbs, but I definitely don’t have a green one for sure.  My one and only achievement in growing was a chestnut tree I accidentally planted in my mom’s back yard and which is now fifteen feet tall.  Needless to say, if plants were children, I would be in jail.

Just over a year ago Jaime and I made a drastic life decision, we would begin to buy locally grown organic produce only, local grass fed beef, pork, chicken and eggs, as well as wild caught fish only (no farmed fish).  In turn we cut out most processed foods.  I resisted this initially dreading the loss of my beloved Dr. Pepper and cheap Costco bacon.

In Los Angeles this lifestyle was really quite easy, due to their warm climate, a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables are available at the farmers markets year round.  We were also rather lucky that just three short blocks from our apartment was McCalls Meat (I demand that anyone who lives in LA who eats meat go there) where we were able to buy locally raised and grass fed meats.

I knew moving to Seattle that the conveniences we had previously enjoyed in LA would not be so easy.  I wan’t prepared for just how hard it really would be.  Washington winters are cold and wet, the farms must endure frozen soil and flooding on a weekly basis.  This drastically reduces the availability of fruits and vegetables, about all you could find consistently were; squash, brussels sprouts, carrots, some leafy greens but not much beyond that.

We also found it very difficult to find a nearby supply of meat.  There was some meat available at the market but the best local meat company required an hour long drive north.

We are now renting a house in Bellevue which had a substantial back yard.  Lamenting the convenience of LA I decided to make my life even harder by attempting to grow my own garden.

My gardening guru is my mother who has kept a fantastic looking yard for years.  Her breadth of knowledge concerning vegetables and when to plant them is immense.  Inspired by Michael Pollan’s Omnivores Dilemma, I will be reporting on the progress here in my blog.  While some of what I am planning on planting I will be consuming throughout the summer, I also plan on having a feast towards the end of the growing season utilizing the fruits of my spring and summer labors.

My first set back occurred two weeks ago when my garden guru informed me that the patch of dirt I had been hoping to use for the garden would not work because of the lack of sunlight.  Instead I will be using a network of long rectangular planter boxes, which while they won’t look as pretty or natural as a conventional garden, will provide me the ability to move my garden should I so desire.

I will be planting (and with some luck growing)

carrots

tomatoes (not from the seed but from on offshoot)

lettuce

strawberries

greenbeans

green onions

onions

peas

radishes

cucumber

asparagus

Additionally I will be growing; rosemary, basil, mint, sage, and chives.

I know that these are lofty goals for someone who has never eaten something that they grew and nurtured themselves.  I am determined to grow as much of my own food as possible.  With my guru at my side I will hopefully have a crop of vegetables with a Summer’s end feast for my friends and family to enjoy food grown in my own back yard.