This weekend it’s time to start the tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers and zucchini in the basement under the grow lights. I’ll probably also put in spinach, arugula, and onions — the earliest of early spring crops — the things that can withstand some snow, a few more frosts. There are bulbs coming up, and the iris are poking through the debris of the winter …
Because I’m underwater at work, here’s a link to a great article about building gardens in low-income neighborhoods — teaching people they can grow their own food in areas where there are not only no Farmer’s Markets, but no supermarkets. Check it out.
I just read about a local (Portland, OR) company that sets up organic gardens in backyards and provides weekly check-ups, with the goal of helping their clients become self-sufficient. According to the article, the farmers originally wanted to start a CSA but ran into difficulties finding land, so they figured out a way to bring the farm to their clients. I’m hoping I’m not to late to get signed on for this year, since I (obviously) need help getting started from scratch. Your entries on gardening are part of my inspiration, and I’ve wanted to have triangle-shaped raised beds ever since you posted a picture of yours.
http://yourbackyardfarmer.com/index.htm
That’s so funny because I’m actually thinking about ripping out the triangle-shaped ones and replacing them with rectangles — the triangles look cool but it’s really hard to get to anything in the middle of them — I wind up putting tall and/or long-season plants in the middle because I can’t reach … I don’t think I’ll do anything so drastic this year, but the prosaic rectangular beds are certainly more practical.
oh well; perhaps I’ll stick with the platonic ideal triangular beds in my head, then… They do look fabulous!