I’m feeling pretty darn good about myself right now. I found an activity that combines: fitness, nutrition, thriftiness, entertainment for the kids, and a learning lesson for all. Wanna know what it is? Gardening.
I’m not boasting any particular skill in this field. My thumb is more of the black variety than the green. However, I do throw myself in with abandon in the spring. It’s more like mid-July when the problems arise. Like when I forget to water, or over-water, forget to weed, or over-prune. How are you supposed to balance all of these things?
That, I obviously can’t answer for you. But, what I would like to encourage you to do is give home-gardening a go. It’s definitely fulfilling, regardless of how successful it is. It felt good to get my hands in the ground and work the soil. My legs don’t feel great today, but that shows that I needed the workout, I ‘spose!
Once (or if!) I get a harvest, it will save our family money and bring healthy food to our table. And, I think my kids will be more likely to eat what they pull from the earth themselves. Graham played and worked the dirt with me while we prepared the soil for transplants and seeds. He sprayed the hose once everything was in the ground. Then he discovered the first little asparagus poking through the dirt in one of our beds.
I’m hoping that when he’s old and gray he’ll remember working in the garden with me. I’m hoping he won’t remember all of the plants that I accidentally kill in the process (or for that matter, seeing me neh-ked when I get out of the shower.) 🙂
Looking forward to getting your gardening on? Here are a few things that you can plant now, during the spring season:
radishes, carrots, peas (English, snow, sugar snap), scallions, lettuces and greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, beets, swiss chard, spinach, cilantro and dill. You can also plant asparagus crowns, but expect to wait for your crop to come in. This is our first year and the plant is two years old!
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