This post is going to veer off-course from my usual format.
The victory garden is a pretty awesome thing. It never should have gone out of style*, and in some places it never did. One of those places is my parents’ back yard. My mom has been gardening for as long as I can remember, and my dad took it up just this year (with fantastic results). They grow lettuces, the dark green leafies, root veggies, beans, peas, berries, herbs, peppers and so on. All of these are grown in three gardens, a few berry patches and a number of pots and window boxes.
I grow tomatoes. I have about ten plants that I rescued from a fate in the compost heap and transplanted. I have about three different heirloom varieties (l-r, below) – Crimson Sprinter, San Marzano paste and (I think) Brandywine. I had my first two sweet cherry tomatoes today! In North Carolina I had started some Silvery Fir Trees and a Pink Girl, all of which Matt is keeping up, along with the herb garden that we built when I visited.
The marigolds are supposed to keep bugs away. So far, they’re working.
While none of these gardens are producing enough to be a substantial part of our diets right now (maybe in August), I wanted to mention them. Because after work, when I am hungry from a long day in the sun (or drizzle, as the case may be) I usually wander into one of the gardens to graze. Right now we are able to harvest peas, and the raspberries are just beginning… yum.
*I think we are seeing the victory garden’s revival, between the economic downturn and people being more interested in where their food comes from… but I think I see a biased cross-section of the population, so it’s hard to tell.
