My dad is a lifelong gardener, as was his father. It runs in the family! So not only does he have a lifetime of hands-on gardening knowledge, from his formal education and career path, he understands the science behind gardening, from proper soil composition to the best fertilizers, etc. When my parents built a new house, dad left behind a huge garden at the old house, meaning he would have to start new garden beds from scratch. I watched him dig, till, mulch, compost, and repeat year after year to create the perfect environment for his prized heirloom tomatoes and hot peppers, among many other veggies. My mom even gets in on the fun, helping him plant, saving him egg shells and other compostable material, and helping him mulch. When my husband and I bought our house when we got married, we got to do the same thing. We had flower beds in the front yard that already had well-established bushes, but no garden beds in the backyard. We had a blank slate! So, armed with dad’s teachings and our own research, we got to work. Bag after bag, yard after yard of dirt and mulch, we converted rock-hard dirt to garden beds. We have seen such an improvement in our soil over the years. You should see the size of the worms! We take care to select the best soil and soil additives (all natural, no chemicals) to create the best growing environment possible. Perhaps you think that your yard is hopeless, that your soil won’t support any life other than grass (or maybe not even that!). Creating a good garden bed is easier than you might think. With a little time and effort, you too can have great plant-sustaining beds in which your garden will thrive!
Categories: Musings from the Gardener's Wife
2 Comments
Bill · July 8, 2020 at 3:09 pm
Victory gardens popped up all over the United States after all the food rationing that went on during WWII. The appeal of growing your own food appeared to last for some time until big agriculture could produce abundant food for everyone. Lately, the coronavirus has shown that our food supply can be interrupted in various ways, from fields being plowed under to outbreaks at canning or meat packing facilities. This has brought on new interest in home gardening. Its nice to know you can, at least, grow some of your own food.
Walter · July 10, 2020 at 9:51 am
I just heard on NBC news this morning that over 20 billion pounds of food were wasted in the United States. Because of the pandemic, they showed fields that were plowed under and piles of summer squash that were being destroyed. They stated that vegetable prices are up about 3%. They mentioned two companies, Imperfect Foods and Crowd Cow that are selling some imperfect veggies over the internet at reduced prices. Glad I have a “Victory” garden in my back yard where I can go out and pick fresh vegetables at any time.
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