After a flurry of activity two weeks ago, I haven't seen much going on in old man Aldo's garden. A few rows of bright green growing but more than half the garden is still barren - albeit neatly tilled and furrowed. Seems it's time to wait again until Mother Nature laps the track and hands off the baton once more in this relay race of Spring gardening. The rows of shelves in my garage once crowded with a cacophony of discarded, dusty items are now empty. Gleaming and inviting - just waiting to be stacked with freshly canned tomatoes, peaches, strawberry jam, pickles and whatever else I can manage to jam into a jar. But for now, they wait, I wait - and continue to find sources for the local produce and other products I won't find in my backyard.
The Fairfield Green Food Guide proves an excellent source for finding farms, farmer's markets and all manner of green ways to eat, cook and get involved. I download the
2012 Guide to Fairfield County Farmer's Markets and post it up next to the weekly menus, garden plan and shopping strategy. I survey the plan of attack covering the kitchen wall, I consider the yard and the gardens for a moment - yaaaawwwn - it's like watching grass grow. And then the Lawn Doctor van pulls up to begin this season's dousing of our patch of grass with seed, fertilizer, pesticides and God knows what else. I run screaming out into the street, arms waving wildly "Noooooo!". Not this year," I pant. The young man looks confused and alarmed. I explain that we are going green, growing a garden and the poison he's got stacked up in his truck will have to find a new home. If it's a choice between thriving green grass and thriving green food, I choose food. My husband will not be happy - he likes a thick carpet of green surrounding the property that is little work for him. We have an old hand pushed spreader in the shed. I see no reason why we can't seed and fertilize our own lawn - it's certainly not that big. There will be no pesticides around here this season though - if I can get my chickens they should take care of the bugs and grubs anyway! Laura Ingalls would be proud;)
After a flurry of activity two weeks ago, I haven't seen much going on in old man Aldo's garden. A few rows of bright green growing but more than half the garden is still barren - albeit neatly tilled and furrowed. Seems it's time to wait again until Mother Nature laps the track and hands off the baton once more in this relay race of Spring gardening. The rows of shelves in my garage once crowded with a cacophony of discarded, dusty items are now empty. Gleaming and inviting - just waiting to be stacked with freshly canned tomatoes, peaches, strawberry jam, pickles and whatever else I can manage to jam into a jar. But for now, they wait, I wait - and continue to find sources for the local produce and other products I won't find in my backyard. The Fairfield Green Food Guide proves an excellent source for finding farms, farmer's markets and all manner of green ways to eat, cook and get involved. I download the 2012 Guide to Fairfield County Farmer's Markets and post it up next to the weekly menus, garden plan and shopping strategy. I survey the plan of attack covering the kitchen wall, I consider the yard and the gardens for a moment - yaaaawwwn - it's like watching grass grow. And then the Lawn Doctor van pulls up to begin this season's dousing of our patch of grass with seed, fertilizer, pesticides and God knows what else. I run screaming out into the street, arms waving wildly "Noooooo!". Not this year," I pant. The young man looks confused and alarmed. I explain that we are going green, growing a garden and the poison he's got stacked up in his truck will have to find a new home. If it's a choice between thriving green grass and thriving green food, I choose food. My husband will not be happy - he likes a thick carpet of green surrounding the property that is little work for him. We have an old hand pushed spreader in the shed. I see no reason why we can't seed and fertilize our own lawn - it's certainly not that big. There will be no pesticides around here this season though - if I can get my chickens they should take care of the bugs and grubs anyway! Laura Ingalls would be proud;)
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