Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Garden Dreams

It is time again to put the garden, such that it is, to bed for the winter and start thinking about next year. I have ordered a host of seed catalogs and have even gone so far as to start making a list of the things I want to try. I have to keep in mind that I have a tiny 8' X 12' garden and a 6'circle planting bed and have to limit what I actually can plant. It is hard sometimes to decide if I want to try tomatoes and peppers again(I historically suck at them) or do the entire thing in beans. Do I want to go for quantity or diversity? High yield or stuff we actually want to try.

It is frustrating sometimes to think that we could grow a lot of things that we buy if we just had the space to do it. Like asparagus. I would love to have a big asparagus bed. We love the stuff and it is just so expensive to buy. But...it takes at least 2 growing seasons to mature. And with the way the economy and my husband's job are going, we may not be here long enough for that. So we wait.

What I am tempted to do every year is to dig up the sod in the back yard and work up growing beds. Do the entire yard in food. But we have a dog back there and, Bless her Thumpin' Gizzard, she likes to dig. I think I could probably work up a couple of areas that we currently don't use for much and still manage to keep Katie out of it, but it would get in the way of my clothesline. I might be able to come up with another maybe 2' X 6' spot with out too much trouble, but the dirt there is all but clay and hard as a rock. It would take a lot of work to get it composted enough to be usable for growing. I do have a spot along the South side of the house that is outside the fence so it is safe from the dog, but it is so choked with crabgrass and some mint that ran wild about 15 years ago that I think I would have a hard time keeping it weed free. But it would be a great salad bed.

I sometimes think "If Onlies" will drive me nuts.

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