Spring Garden Street

That's actually the name of a street in Philadelphia where my paternal ancestors lived, but it seemed like a good title for this post. If I still had the energy to keep up the Windham County blog I would have put it there, but for now I'll just leave it here.

Living in the temperate zone we do have to get through the winter, but our reward is spring, which you can't have otherwise. I got a load of horseshit from my neighbors last fall and now I'm starting to spread it around. I planted a Concord grape next to my front porch, with a decent scoop of manure in the hole, and my idea is that it will grow up the column and across the beam on the south side, and I'll be plucking grapes for my servants to peel -- well, okay, no servants -- in the summer and fall. The kitchen garden already has parsley, oregano, and mint, which are perennials, and I'll be planting basil and other herbs soon. There's a peach tree next to the new grape vine as well.

 

I've also started spading the garden. The garlic is already going strong and I have some voluntary spinach. I'm going to plant onion sets, carrots and potatoes in the next couple of days, then get started on tenderer crops in the next couple of weeks. Even if you're an apartment dweller, if you have a balcony, you can grow quite a lot of good stuff in containers. If you have even a postage stamp of a lawn you might be surprised how much you can grow in a small space. 

 

It's good for the soul, and what's good for the soul is good for the body. But more than that, as long as you're figuring out how to consume fresh produce, or use your fresh herbs, you won't be consuming manufactured "food" from the middle aisles of the supermarket and you'll be developing better eating habits. Even if you don't have access to horseshit, you can compost your kitchen waste, which is definitely better than sending it to the landfill, and you can also build up your soil over time with bark mulch and straw and whatever other organic material you can get. 

 

Oh yeah -- don't rake up your grass clippings, leave them on the lawn. Also, you can chop up the leaves with the lawnmower, you don't need to rake them either. Really. It's all a plot to sell you synthetic fertilizer. You can also grind up the sticks and other coarser matter with a fairly inexpensive machine -- plug in electric ones are powerful enough for most homeowners' purposes. So try it -- you'll be happier!