YOUR OWN GARDEN

GARDENING IN YOUR OWN SPACE DURING THE PANDEMIC!

May 7th I wrote:

The benefits of growing your own food includes the enjoyment of fresh organic produce, getting exercise in the garden and reducing stress. Did I forget . . . Saving $$ ?

“Victory gardens were encouraged during WW1 and WW2; some are again turning to gardening in response to COVID-19.” (Taken from an article I read this spring)

We each have different yards & homes so we can’t just do what everyone else is doing. But we can look for ways to grow some organic vegetables. Hopefully you can turn some sods into a space for your own garden. Or maybe you can rent a space in your city or town.

Our friends decided to put some potatoes and tomatoes into their flower garden. But if you only have a small area, maybe you can use a few pots to grow a few veggies. In case this isn’t even possible, there are usually market gardeners who sell fresh vegetables and fruits.

I am blessed to have a huge garden here beside our home as well as a space a mile away where I plan on putting in potatoes this year. I will plant extra so I have plenty to share with others who cannot have a garden.

I usually start planting as soon as the soil can be worked; putting in those seeds that recommend early planting. This includes carrots, spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard and beets. They are starting to sprout now; probably because we had 4/10 inch of rain these past 2 days.

Last week I put in 2 rows of peas.

June 9 – Today

BEET LEAVES

As I mentioned, we are now eating the spinach, lettuce and onion greens. This evening I will serve a salad that will include beet leaves too. Yes, they too are ready to enjoy in salads. The more variety of greens in the salad, the more nutrition!

I planted 2 long rows of beets just because I wanted to have enough so I could pick leaves off for my salads until August or so when the leaves are less appealing and not tender anymore. Of course I don’t pick all of them so there will be plenty to help grow the beets.

At that time we will be enjoying cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes & cabbage iI so much more n our salads and we will be eating fresh cooked young beets. I forgot to mention the peas, beans, potatoes, corn and so many other delicious vegetables.

I hope you have a garden or maybe your neighbor will share or you may have a market gardener close by??

Enjoy all of those colorful foods, share some if you have too many and preserve lots for the winter.

Winnie