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| Digging potatoes with Grandpa Paul, Summer 2012 |
There are definitely signs that spring is approaching. Even before I noticed the daffodils and tulips emerging from the ground there were other indications that spring was coming. The first sign was the increased body count on the bridge across the Umatilla River. In just one trip into town I counted two skunks, one porcupine and one opossum pancaked into the tarmac. If wildlife is on the move, spring must be on its way!
On Tuesday we had sunshine! Temperatures were in the 50's, but the sun was shining. I opened my new gigantic package of Costco gardening gloves. I cleaned out flowerbeds and planted strawberry starts. It was good to get my hands back in dirt, even if I did break a nail. On Wednesday I complained all day about aching bones. How can so little work create so many aches and pains?
Last year was our first effort in vegetable gardening. We had a lot of fun gardening with the grandchildren. We learned quite a bit from our initial experience. I canned tomatoes for the first time and filled our freezer with anything I could blanch and freeze. We are still eating last summer's bounty, although we are down to only a few remaining onions and frozen peppers. As we plan for this year's garden, we are paying attention to varieties that best fit our tastes.
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| This summer we will stagger planting of radishes so we have them all summer,and we will harvest them before they grow to the size of baseballs! |
Tuesday evening, after my day in the garden, I made soup for dinner. Every ingredient came from the freezer. Every vegetable came from our garden. The beef came from a little farther away...we bought half a beef from our neighbor across the road. There's something very satisfying about growing our own food. I'm not going to be milling my own flour any time soon, but we will be eating our own fresh vegetables.
I am so glad that spring is almost here. Do you think it's safe to take the snow tires off my car?
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Your vegetable garden looks so lush and beautiful! I can only dream....
ReplyDeleteI loved your first paragraph. You had me giggling. I loved your post. I am so ready to get my hands in the dirt. I won't have much to dig in at my new house, but I am ready. I am thinking of gardening in a community garden this year. It will be a new experience for me. I have no choice if I want to grow vegetables since our new lot is too small for vegetable gardening, and whatever comes up will be eaten by the deer!
ReplyDeleteI love living in the land of mild weather, but sometimes (like after reading this), I wonder what I'm missing out on. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI love soup with everything out of our garden!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, isn't it wonderful when those first pale rays of sunshine finally whisper spring is on it's way? This week has still been cold, but WHOOPEE, we've had some sun, too. Your efforts look hugely successful, what an abundant crop of radishes you have there. We have grown our own fruit and veg for over ten years now, but I'm useless at preserving it, despite my half hearted efforts I usually have to give most away, lest it spoils! It's either a feast or a famine - that said, there is nothing so tasty as homegrown, is there?
ReplyDeleteI didn't get nearly the bounty from my garden that you did and was disappointed with the massive number of slugs and aphids. This year I'll be cutting back on the number and trying some other things that don't attract so many pests! I sure did enjoy fresh from the garden stuff, though. :-)
ReplyDeleteYea for the garden, but I'd leave the snow tires on for the rest of the month.
ReplyDeleteDon't ask ME about those snow tires! It's snowing to beat the band here.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember if you're in Oregon or Washington, but I spoke with somebody from Oregon last week. Very pleasant man. Are all the people in the ultra northwest nice?
You describe what I consider to be a near-perfect day. I can't wait to get my hands dirty! And I learned first-hand over the past couple of years how fulfilling it is to feed your family with good you've grown and/or preserved. Here's hoping for many more days like that for both of us!
ReplyDeleteOh boy, you're making me wish for spring in the worst way. First sign of spring around here: the smell of dirt. And we're just beginning to feel it.
ReplyDeleteThat’s early, very early. Can’t do anything like that yet, I’m only chopping and tidying and pruning.
ReplyDeleteBut I can dream, can’t I?
I'm so jealous that you're already digging in the dirt. Those days are still a distant dream for me. I'm impressed by your garden bounty after your first year of planting. Isn't it fun to grow your own food? I love it.
ReplyDeleteDear Jann, I'm not sure about the snow tires, but I am sure that you've helped to rekindle my desire to plant a vegetable garden this year. I haven't done that since the summer of 2008, when I lived in Minnesota and had both perennial and vegetable gardens. This coming summer will be my fourth one here in Missouri and I hope to do some square-foot gardening. So thanks for being so enthusiastic about gardening! Peace.
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