Thu 17 Jan 2008
Our House in Felt 2007
This is our home. We live in a 12 foot wide row home with a 5 foot slab of concrete for a back yard.
There are bonuses to having a concrete slab backyard (no watering or mowing) and major disadvantages (no yard for a child or dog to play).
There is a rise (at least in my observation in my neighborhood) of families that are choosing to stay put in our neighborhood. We have a great public school in the area that is really doing an amazing job and is excited about education. The school and the fact we can walk all over our neighborhood is a major factor in our decision to stick with city life.
I have really, really missed having a garden though. We had a very successful container garden set up on the rooftop deck,the same deck that the cowboy has no knowledge of. We have always been afraid of his climbing and energy to utilize our rooftop yard fully.
So, the garden left us when I was pregnant.
This year we have procured a 20′x30′ plot of land in a community garden. I am so freaking excited! Our family is feverishly discussing what vegetables we like and what to plant. D gets 10′x15′ of the garden to plant his tomatoes. The man LOVES heirloom variety tomatoes.
The cowboy has requested carrots, cucumbers, and peppers. I am all for pumpkins, watermelon, zucchini and squash. Herbs will go in our front window box at home ( I hear that they may inhibit some plants growth).
I know that we have to limit our possibilities at some point… but I have this vision of acres of farmland and us as Ma and Pa and Cowboy Kettle. Maybe “Baltimore Gothic” is more like it. The conversation is carrying us through our gray, snowless winter. I am so excited that the cowboy is interested in the process.
I was so interested in the 100 Foot Challenge … this is the way that we can participate in (almost) eliminating fossil fuel use in the transportation and production of our vegetables. My car gets 32 mpg… and the drive to the garden is about 3 miles. Not bad for city life.
Anyone have good gardening tips/resources to share? Book that are a must read? Canning recipes?
Spring is in the air….. yea!
ETA:
What was that I said about a snowless winter?
We got blindsided by a winer storm today… not much accumulation but it came down quick with sleet.
I think the cowboy will be off tomorrow!
January 17th, 2008 at 11:55 am
You Grow Girl is a great book and website. If you were in Toronto I would also suggest the Foodshare classes and the upcoming Seedy Saturday.
January 17th, 2008 at 11:56 am
and I forgot the square foot gardening book is a great resource!
January 17th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
how exciting!! i have been getting my seed catalogs and can’t wait to start planting! try Cooks Garden and Seeds Of Change for some good stuff….
January 17th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I too will make my first garden this summer.
I cant wait to read gardening book suggestions from your commenters. Are you ordering seed catalogs? If so, from where? (Since my new yard is a bit bigger, I may order some flowers too.)
January 17th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I forgot to say I LOVE THE PICTURE OF YOUR PLACE!! (Almost as much as I love the picture of mine.)
January 17th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I love the picture of your house in felt. It’s so sweet. Thanks for the reminder that we need to start planning the 2008 version of our garden.
January 17th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
My advice is plant some flowers in the plot too. They will attract bees that will help your garden grow. Think old fashioned like zinnias and marigolds.
January 17th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Actually, some herbs enhance vegetable growth by scaring off bugs etc. Can’t remember much more than that. but it’s called companion planting.
January 17th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I LOVE the fabric creation of your place!! I can’t wait to see how your garden turns out. I just grew tomatos last year - but may you will inspire to plant a few more things!
January 17th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I love our garden too! I suggest building a trellis for the cucumbers! It will save a TON of space for other things, and it is easier to find them hanging, rather than digging around in the vines on the ground. My husband made ours, and we used strings between the wood uprights so that it was super easy to unstring and clean up at the end of the season. If you do not find ideas that you like to build one from the net, let me know and I can take some pics of ours.
January 27th, 2008 at 9:34 am
I don’t live in Baltimore, so I don’t know what sorts of available resources you have, but when I was little we had a garden that was about that size (in our huge backyard - upstate NY and all that). Anyway, my suggestion would be if at all possible to buy actual plants as opposed to seeds. I know the seeds are more close to nature and all that - but you’re much more likely to have plants that won’t grow than you will if you buy actual little palates of plants (we bought them at a farmer’s market - possibly from the Amish?). Also, I suggest squashes of all types. They’re fairly easy, and very useful, and you can carve the pumpkins for halloween (just remember to turn them occasionally so they get colored all around). It’s a great learning experience for kids (at least it was for me) and as creepy as this sounds I’m so excited that someone I don’t even know is getting a garden (a country girl relocated to Manhattan…you get the idea).