Ever start a new project with no experience? Where to start looking for advice? Who's your guide? I've always wanted a garden. Not for the fruits of my labor, but the opportunity to create. Or is it power and control? I didn't used to be a vegetable eater, but since being diagnosed and treated for cancer I'm avoiding meat, daisy and fish. That's another story for another day. I'm now a vegan.
My plan is to start a box garden in a small place at our home in Sacramento in the spring of 2013. But first, some past history from 2005.
My wife and I planted a garden the summer we lived in a rental house inside a Clarksburg vineyard. We asked our young grandchildren to help pick out seeds at our local Home Depot. Each of the 3 kids picked 5 different packets of seeds. The house had a greenhouse where they potted the seeds in small containers. We watched them grow. We debated what day we could move them to an outside plot. The hard physical work of preparing the garden occupied an entire weekend with shovel and hoe. No fertilizer, we're going organic! We made a ceremony of moving the new plants to the outside plot. Boy,when those plants started growing, we were happier than a cheerleader dating the quarterback.
We has tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, carrots and melon. At least I planted watermelon. As Gomer Pyle would say "Surprise", as squash sprouted where my watermelon was scheduled. We recovered. We ate squash and bought watermelon. The weeding of the garden wasn't my best effort. Instead of daily weeding management, I'd stall and finally get to the job every couple of weeks. Weeding is a job not a joy. Th grand kids loved picking the plants not always eating what we grew. We tried to use the garden as teaching moments. We had fun with the whole project. I miss living in the country. There is something special about seeing the far horizon in the early evening. You know what I mean?
I've missed the garden. My wife surprised me with an upside down tomato planter for my birthday. The tomatoes were as refreshing as skinny dip in a cool pond. We added herbs that enhanced our salads for two years. I'm recharged. I went back to Home Depot to see what they stocked in raised gardens. I checked out my daughter-in-laws' super raised garden. I thought out a plan to make my own. I took measurements. Unlike Wyatt Earp I couldn't pull the trigger until I read Sunset Magazine. They ran a small story on a product with a unique design. I was intrigued. I read the web site. I ordered my raised garden from www.minifarmbox.com owned by Conor Fitzpatrick.
We has tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, carrots and melon. At least I planted watermelon. As Gomer Pyle would say "Surprise", as squash sprouted where my watermelon was scheduled. We recovered. We ate squash and bought watermelon. The weeding of the garden wasn't my best effort. Instead of daily weeding management, I'd stall and finally get to the job every couple of weeks. Weeding is a job not a joy. Th grand kids loved picking the plants not always eating what we grew. We tried to use the garden as teaching moments. We had fun with the whole project. I miss living in the country. There is something special about seeing the far horizon in the early evening. You know what I mean?
I've missed the garden. My wife surprised me with an upside down tomato planter for my birthday. The tomatoes were as refreshing as skinny dip in a cool pond. We added herbs that enhanced our salads for two years. I'm recharged. I went back to Home Depot to see what they stocked in raised gardens. I checked out my daughter-in-laws' super raised garden. I thought out a plan to make my own. I took measurements. Unlike Wyatt Earp I couldn't pull the trigger until I read Sunset Magazine. They ran a small story on a product with a unique design. I was intrigued. I read the web site. I ordered my raised garden from www.minifarmbox.com owned by Conor Fitzpatrick.
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