I wasn’t raised on a farm. I don’t have parents who garden. I certainly didn’t grow up with any interest in horticulture. So how did I end up growing a large garden every year, preserving produce, and spending the winter months learning more and planning for the next growing season?
It all started when I moved about an hour from my family to live with my now-husband. Initially, I didn’t have any friends in the area and I found myself with lots of free time that would have previously been spent socializing. So, when the weather started to warm up, my mother-in-law suggested I plant a small garden. I figured I had nothing to lose.
That first year, I think I had maybe 10 different things. All the standard stuff – tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, cucumbers, radishes, and carrots. I put everything in the ground, watered regularly, and like magic I had quite the little garden. It really wasn’t much work and being able to go out and pick vegetables I grew myself had me hooked.
I started trying to learn more from books, websites, and bloggers. The research really got me interested in having more control over the food I eat. With an abundance of produce it was necessary to try new recipes in order to use up the food I had grown. Additionally, the garden encouraged a healthier diet as I couldn’t bear to watch all the produce I had grown go to waste.
Of course, I haven’t always had the easy success that I saw my first year. At our old house, there was a summer where we had two heavy storms that managed to wash my garden out with each storm. That year was extremely disheartening but I was determined to keep with it. A couple of summers ago, I didn’t even plant a garden because we were working on the house we eventually purchased and live in now. This year I did plant a good-sized garden but had trouble keeping up with it as my pregnancy progressed.
Each year presents itself with its own challenges. I really like that about gardening. I am learning each and every year I get out there and plant something. Planning for the upcoming year also helps get me through the bleak winter months when I feel like it will never be warm again.
I have so many plans and ideas for the upcoming years. My big project for next spring is to get some berries planted and possibly a couple of apple trees as well. With a baby coming in December, I have been giving a lot of thought to things I can plant once and harvest a crop year after year. Right now the only perennial I have is 9 crowns of asparagus and I want to expand on that. Another fun project I have been researching is building and finding a spot for a small cold frame greenhouse. I am curious to see how far into wintertime I can keep something growing.
With the gardening season wrapping up around here, I am already looking forward to the next season of adventures!