Recently, Nightline ran a great story about an urban farm in Pasadena, California. Very inspiring! We have a large garden plot we've reclaimed from part of the huge, 'deadish' lawn that awaited us when we bought this house, and a very productive (and in great need of a MAJOR 'haircut') Royal Anne cherry tree. On top of that, El Professor has planted four apple trees (three are in stages of espalier), two plum trees, two kiwi vines and a raspberry patch. I've added a winter lettuce patch in the front yard where the house doesn't cast its winter shade, and five very unhappy looking blueberry plants (they don't qualify as 'bushes' yet). Much of this gardening has been a labor of love, transforming this abandoned house (our house had been repossessed and empty for a year) and neglected yard into aesthetic productivity (still working on that). Still, the farm on Nightline raised the bar of possibilities!
In our tough economy the resurrection of the Victory Garden has been fun to see. Recently, I stumbled across this blog with a link to victory gardening. As I've tinkered with vegetable gardening over the years, my dad has made a few suggestions/observations from wisdom he gained as a child. My dad grew up in Vancouver, Washington during WWII when the population of this major port area grew in leaps and bounds. Across the alley from his house was an empty lot which became the site of his Victory Garden. His wisdom to me? Quit over watering the tomatoes.
This summer I am planning another winter gardening area in the front yard. In the meantime, we are enjoying our own Victory Garden.
One of our favorite signs of the season....roof top cherry harvesting!
1 comment:
Up close and personal shots of your lovely Victory Garden! You know I enjoyed these very much and I appreciate your kind knees to let you get down that low.
Is that one Swiss Chard? I have some Swiss Chard in my fridge and I don't know how to prepare it. One recipe says to saute it with olive oil and garlic. Any suggestions?
I LOVE the rooftop harvesting! Doesn't get much easier than that - or more fun.
My Mom -of the WW2 generation - had a Victory Garden and found that the most prolific veggie she could grow was radishes. Tons and tons of them. My grandma had a home for boys whose parents had to work to make ends meet, so well, yep, they had lots of radishes to eat along with Grandma's good home-cooking.
Thanks for this encouraging look at gardening, Gretchen. You and your family inspire!
(I'll have to get some photos of my teeny tiny garden soon.)
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