-
Perseverance…Further Lessons from the Garden
Alternatively, I get by with a little help from my friends. I mentioned on Wednesday, how I felt a bit like a failure for not getting my seeds started and how I endeavored to learn from my personal slump this winter. Today led to a few new lessons from the garden. I had to leave my house in order to buy chicken feed for the hens at school and rabbit food for Wendell the bunny. Trips to the feed store are always fruitful. This was no different and I left with zucchini, patty pan squash, eggplant, water melon, and three kinds of peppers. I also left with renewed hope. Lesson…
-
Shortening the Food Chain
When Covid-19 first started hitting America really hard in March, I told the fella that “this panic buying is one thing, a disrupted supply line is going to be something else entirely.” Then the stories appeared in the paper, about how already struggling dairy farmers were having to dump their milk, since their market (little cartons sold to public schools) was drying up. Tales of produce being left to rot or plowed into the ground to fertilize next season’s crop followed. With this weekend came the news that meat chickens were being depopulated and that pigs and cattle would meet a similar fate if new processors cannot be found. I’m…
-
Lessons from my Garden
I didn’t grow up in Houston. I grew up surrounded by several generations of Midwestern gardeners. It has taken a while for me to grow used to planting brassica transplants in January and tomatoes in March. I’m lying, I’m still not used to it. In the past few years I’ve gotten better about planting on time. Last year I did my first tries at seed starting in my garage with grow lights. I had success. My garden last year made me feel like my attempts were not in vain. I was going to be a legit gardener, rather than just a dabbler. Victories in growing helped push away the tides…
