Prepping the Garden
Ufff! I should have taken some ibuprofen before bed. I woke up achy. I’ve been spending evenings after work tilling the patch at the side of my Tiny House in preparation for a garden. 1) I’m not sure about how much space I’ll need, 2) I’m not sure when the big trees leaf out if there will be too much shade, 3) I don’t know anything.
I do know that when I turned up the dirt there were lots of long, pink, healthy worms. A good sign.
I’ve probably spent $100 dollars getting the ground ready. I bought seeds, soil, and some gardening tools. Some of these expenditures are one-offs. Now that I own them, but the soil and seeds are money in the ground. Luckily, some of the seeds have already sprouted indoors under lamps.
The idea of gardening is not new to me. I’ve always wanted to have one—but in Chicago it simply didn’t make sense. Food was plentiful. (Though I would have loved a tomato that tasted like a tomato). Then in Oregon my roommate Jon tore up some thorny huckleberry bushes and planted seeds from packets. I felt sorry for him, thinking, This isn’t going to work. Well, it did.
Turns out the sunflower grew to seven feet and the kale and tomatoes were abundant. All we had to do was water and enjoy the fruits of our labor.
At my townhouse last year I did container gardening and got a bit of everything: kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and pole beans. Not in quantities to can, but I did freeze, and eat.
This year, we have carrots, cucumbers, pole beans, 2 kinds
of tomatoes, kale, basil, spearmint, sunflowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, and
spring onions. And a tiny bit of squash. I’m learning how my garden grows, inch
by inch.
Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make this garden grow Gonna mulch it deep and low Gonna make it fertile ground Inch by inch, row by row Please bless these seeds I sow Please keep them safe below 'Til the rain comes tumbling down Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones We are made of dreams and bones Need a place to call my own 'Cause the time is close at hand Grain for grain, sun and rain Find my way in nature's chain Till my body and my brain Tell the music of the land Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make this garden grow Gonna mulch it deep and low Gonna make it fertile ground Plant your rows straight and long Season with a prayer and song Mother Earth will make you strong If you give her loving care Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make this garden grow Gonna mulch it deep and low Gonna make it fertile ground Slug by slug, weed by weed Boy this garden's got me t'd All the insects come to feed On my tomato plants Sunburt face, skined up knees The kitchen's chocked with zucchinis I'm shopping at the A&P's Next time I get the chance Old crow watching from a tree He's got his hungry eye on me In my garden I'm as free As that feathered thief up there Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make this garden grow Gonna mulch it deep and low Gonna make it fertile ground
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