One of the things Rick and I decided when we took on the TV Show Make Your Life Healthy, is that we would also start implementing the healthy ideas into our own lives. We have made number of changes: Drinking filtered water, purchasing a Herd Share and drinking only raw milk; buying organic eggs; purchasing our beef from a farmer who raises grass feed beef; buying free range chickens and local produce whenever possible. So when the spring came this year, we decided to plant our own backyard garden.
In our 41 years of marriage, only once did we tackle a garden and it was many years ago. It resulted in 7 pieces of okra at the end of the summer. Not so profitable. This time we decided to do it by the book. We did some research and Rick built two 16' x 4' raised beds. We purchased some top soil, picked up a load of moo-poo and borrowed a roto-tiller to get the soil ready. Then over Memorial Day weekend, we planted our garden.
One thing we "new-bees" don't know is what to expect from our plants. Are four strawberries enough? Is 20 zucchini too much? Do cucumbers really grow on a trellis? Should the 16 tomato plants and 18 pepper plants be enough?
We also planted two kinds of lettuce, spinach, radishes, beans, peas, watermelon, mush melon, onions, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. After only three weeks, all the seed have sprouted and the plants are developing nicely. Something is eating my cabbage leaves, but all the rest are doing fine. It is exciting to see how much these plants grow in 24 hours! You can literally watch them grow! We have blossoms on our cucumbers, melons, tomatoes and tiny baby peppers on our pepper plants.
If you haven't tried back yard gardening, it is not too late to get in gear for a fall harvest.
I am keeping a journal with all the info on when our plants germinated, how they are doing and will eventually keep track of the harvest. We plan to do this again next year, earlier rather than later, and we want to know what we had enough of and what we would like to have had more results.
I will posts photos of our garden so everyone can share in our excitement!
My mom said it is like the Victory Gardens after WWII. They sacrificed for so long during the war and their gardens were a sign of great victory when the war ended.
We are fighting a battle too! Too much chemicals, too much processed foods and too little fruits and vegetables--our Victory garden will hopefully yield a healthier life! (and possible zucchini for the whole neighborhood!!)
Happy gardening!
