This is going to be the year we harvest a decent garden, but it just might take some kind of crazy to make it happen.
Our yard is not very big. We have just enough green lawn to manage and more flower beds than are necessary. I hate weeding and it shows in my flower beds all summer long. I have been determining over the last few summers we've lived here just how much I can and want to do in terms of gardening. Don't get me wrong, I love to garden. I love flowers and vegetables. And so did the woman who lived here before me.
She has flower beds all over the yard. It is downright ridiculous to live in a mild-desert climate and have flower gardens everywhere. There is not enough water to keep things alive through the hot, dry summer and so beds become over run with weeds and dry, cracked earth.
Little by little, I have been getting rid of flower beds and deciding how I want to use my yard. If money were no object, my yard would be beautiful. I would hire people to do the work and have fountains and a beautiful things to look at. There would be fruit trees and vegetables a plenty all season long. But, since that ain't happenin' much of the labor will come by yours truly and whomever I can round up or threaten.
This is where some kind of crazy comes in.
I am excited. Daren is excited. The kids are not.
We want peas and green beans and tomatoes and broccoli and two peach trees.
They want to play video games and hang out with their friends and sleep til noon everyday.
We want to teach them the value of work and pride and satisfaction in accomplishing hard goals.
They think we're downright stupid.
Yup. This summer will finally be our year for a decent harvest. Even if it takes some kind of crazy to get there.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Green Acres
Posted by Shauna at 1:47 PM
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4 comments:
It really is amazing how much we COULD get done if all able-bodied humans in our house got up off the couch and pitched in!
When we were in Williamsburg, touring old colonial homes, my kids were commenting on how much fun it must have been for the kids back then to help cook, take care of the farm, etc...Well, heck, there is lots of fun to be had back at home kids...hee, hee, hee!
I love the garden idea!! There's nothing better than going out to your backyard to pick your produce! Good luck getting your teens to pitch in...money always talks as does straight up threats...so there's always that. ;-)
Wish I had the "perfect" suggestion to your dilemma, but the only beings I got help from in gathering the produce from our back yard were the bunnies and squirrels !
Oh I totally agree with you. We did plant a garden this year and are attempting carrots, which got blasted out by the spray hose on accident. Some may still survive. Good luck! The peas sound delicious!
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