Spring makes me begin to think about gardening. I don't have the greenest thumb in the world and house plants tend to die a slow death. Who can keep a grocery store orchid alive for very long anyway? I am keen to learn, but so far my enthusiasm has not yielded any results with orchids. I can, however, grow vegetables successfully.
I grew up with a garden in our backyard. Carrots, tomaotes, peas (my favourite), cucumber, and green beans right from our garden to the table. I also remember trips to the Parkdale Market in Ottawa to buy fresh vegetables. So delicious.
We don't have a garden on our backyard today, but this it the year I am going to start something.
Let me take a step back. Four years ago, I applied to the York Region Food Network for a community garden plot. We got one! They are sought after and very few are available each year to new gardeners. As a family, we had such a great time the first year. Everyone got to choose what kind of vegetables we planted. It was so rewarding to grow our own vegetables. It was amazing to see the kids pull carrots from the ground, rinse them off and eat them while standing in the garden. Everyone was keen to go water the garden and pull out the weeds. The community garden was about a fifteen-minute drive from our house. It would have been ideal if it were a little closer to us.
In the second year, all started well. It was a summer filled with rain. The excitement of going to the garden began to wane. It became my job by the middle of our second season. I wanted to continue the farm to table experience for my family. We decided not to keep the garden plot for the third season. Instead, I found a local farm called Cooper's CSA. It is a local farm that sells shares of vegetables for the spring through fall season. They deliver a large box of vegetables to my front door every week. That has worked well for us for the past two years. We still get the benefit of fresh vegetables without the work of maintaining our own garden.
I miss having a vegetable garden. This year I plan to start a container garden in our backyard. I am excited about the prospect of growing our own vegetables and fresh herbs but on a smaller, more manageable scale.
I am off to the garden centre to start the planning process. Stay tuned for more garden updates.
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