Growing Your Own Grub
Things are finally warming up here which means I can plant some vegetables soon. So far I have some chives and basil that bounced back from last year.
The basil is particularly tough and I saw the healthy green sprouts trying to burst through the snow several times. Here’s a pic of it growing all sideways.
Herbs and spices can turn almost any bland food into something more exciting and tasty. Shelly has an interesting post up on Earthly Eating about the medicinal properties of some herbs and includes a yummy recipe.
This year I plan to expand my garden but need to recruit a couple guys to dig it up for me since the last time I gave that a go on my own, I almost snapped my back. Last year the tomatoes and zucchinis were successful but some of my jalapeño peppers shriveled up.
The food crisis hasn’t hit us with higher prices but it’s predicted that it will. We can’t grow wheat or rice to supply our family with but potatoes, onions, carrots and cabbage are some things that grow well here. We have raspberries coming but animals kept jumping on my strawberry plants last year. I’m hesitant to try them again because it was discouraging. Does anyone have any hints on keeping critters away from strawberries? If so, do share.
I bought a book on gardening in small spaces and it was a little disappointing because it mostly focused on making it look pretty.
Thankfully we do have the internet and there are plenty of people offering their practical advice, experience and encouragement to help us grow our own harvest.
Anais from Path to Freedom has started a Back to Basics Challenge encouraging us to preserve our harvest by canning, freezing, drying and more.
Back in January Anais started the 100 Foot Diet Challenge. I wasn’t aware of it back then but I’m on it now. The challenge is simply to create a meal at least once a week with homegrown food. It’s a great way to improve your nutrition, become more self sufficient and decrease your carbon foot print.
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