This year, I will apply my mad skills in gardening to a 10x10’ plot at The Rock Farm, a community garden on the west side of the island. This lacks the convenience of walking next door to garden in Hilary and Neil’s yard, but affords a larger space with more sun and a Master Gardener to crack the whip if I get too lazy.
In addition, I will be able to grow a row of food for Helpline House. I’ve planted broccoli in it, and began planting my own garden as well. So far, I’ve got seeds for kale, spinach and a stir-fry mix in the ground, as well as two hills of cucumbers. I’ve purchased tomato plants and a rhubarb plant at one of our local farm and garden supply stores, Bay Hay and Feed. The tomatoes will stay in the house a little longer, waiting for warmer weather. We are still yo-yoing back and forth between balmy and chilly weather.
I got cucumber seeds from a new seed library on the island. It is located at our Kitsap Regional Library branch on Bainbridge, but has its own little house near the gardening shed. I hope that people will test the seeds and comment on them, and return seeds from their own crops to share next year. This is an exciting development for me, as I see a seed library as one of the necessities of a food self-sufficient island.
This will be my third year of serious gardening. While I don’t know much, I feel more confident about the whole thing than I did three years ago. Plants need water, sunlight, and TLC. As revealed in the Frog and Toad story, “The Garden,” by Arnold Lobel, plants cannot be rushed or bullied into thriving. Like children, they develop in their own time.
In addition, I will be able to grow a row of food for Helpline House. I’ve planted broccoli in it, and began planting my own garden as well. So far, I’ve got seeds for kale, spinach and a stir-fry mix in the ground, as well as two hills of cucumbers. I’ve purchased tomato plants and a rhubarb plant at one of our local farm and garden supply stores, Bay Hay and Feed. The tomatoes will stay in the house a little longer, waiting for warmer weather. We are still yo-yoing back and forth between balmy and chilly weather.
I got cucumber seeds from a new seed library on the island. It is located at our Kitsap Regional Library branch on Bainbridge, but has its own little house near the gardening shed. I hope that people will test the seeds and comment on them, and return seeds from their own crops to share next year. This is an exciting development for me, as I see a seed library as one of the necessities of a food self-sufficient island.
This will be my third year of serious gardening. While I don’t know much, I feel more confident about the whole thing than I did three years ago. Plants need water, sunlight, and TLC. As revealed in the Frog and Toad story, “The Garden,” by Arnold Lobel, plants cannot be rushed or bullied into thriving. Like children, they develop in their own time.