Monday, February 27, 2012

Garden Expectations

Do most gardeners have a new garden expectation that changes when a new season shows its' face?

I think I do. I believe there are several actually. It may be commensurate with the amount of work that has been put into converting over on this scale all at once. As 1st man recently blogged about personal frustration at knowing his expectations are going to be a little off timeframe I can certainly attest to the same apprehensions. For the most part we have managed to do the roughing in on all the cultivated space to be worked. We do not have near the area as Two men have amongst themselves which makes it devilishly more attainable in a short term. My hat to you for your journey.

Garden Expectations:


I do not expect that the backyard will be as intense as it would be if It was awash in absolute sunshine. The thing to be seen is whether enough of the surrounding offending tree canopy can be trimmed out (so to believe) we can get decent results. Anything else will be entirely dependent upon our vigilance of breaking up the soil, what nutrition naturally is present, and how much we end up adding overall. It appears attainable.

The original garden on the east side last year came away with plenty of tomatoes, a few eggplant, heaps of cucumbers, and a number of peppers all with only partial full daylighting. Not to mention we planted things quite late. Another 2 months would have been perfect. It will show off the real abilities of bio-intensive methods. At least on a personal level as I already know they work. Having long ago been demonstrated.

Yesterday I was able to get out and do actual gardening. Planting 18 broccoli, numerous heads of lettuce, and even several swiss chard. It felt natural. Currently in the process of uploading a video segment of it. I think it came out pretty well. For the time being it looks somewhat sparse but I know in a very short while this broccoli will fill in all the little gaps. Amazing onlooking neighbors at the density of it all. There still is another 4x8 section over there which needs to be planted with the remaining various lettuce, leeks, beets, carrots, and garlic.

The front yard rests my fullest hopes. Plenty of direct sunshine. Hours upon hours of working the earth. Well manicured areas. A place to show off to those around me that things are feasible. It has to. lol. I know that there is bound to be some 'setbacks' but at the scale of doing everything out of the gate the overall should easily end up in the right direction.

Earlier I wrote about Kiki leveling off the corn plants. We both were quite upset about this. Myself from the act. The cat from the consequence. No, I didn't do anything rash to the cat. Just a stern talking to and subsequently the silent treatment which he absolutely hates.

For years my beliefs have been that what you feed yourself and your pets gives them the best chances at a long fruitful life. Barring of course the equal possibility that any one of us could randomly get hit by a bus whether they took pristine care of themselves through diet and exercise or ate McD's garbage day in day out.

Taking this approach with Kiki has been no different. He is fed a grainfree diet. It's called 'Before Grains'. Certainly not as cheap as the things you find in a grocery store. Frankly that muck is scary! Much in the same way as the 'human' food is in there. The cat has as a result thrived throughout the years. The other day being woken up to his corn munching got me to thinking. After all these years of grain free bliss (he is a true carnivore after all) he chose to go straight for the grain. Wonder if he missed it? Perhaps all of this is on the same line as people whom missed things they gave up long ago in the thought of eating healthy. The cat just happens to miss all those damn cup cakes I suppose.

4 comments:

  1. I hope that your garden is fruitful this year! Battling with shade is always a problem.

    We have problems coping with our own timeline, too. Sometimes there just does not seem to be enough time in the day. Ideally I wish we could just immerse ourselves overnight into everything we have planned to do in the future, so it is difficult having to wait on some things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could even say that modern humanity is so bad at waiting that they managed to devise season extenders although we are able to store enough food throughout the season to get us going for the year without them. :)

      It is just so difficult to hold out upon the things you enjoy, say hobbies, and will find numerous ways to incorporate them into your life.

      Thanks for the stop by.

      Delete
  2. Watched the video before I read this post. You have such a cute cat! I am a cat person, so I just love those creatures! My garden expectations this year? I don't know what to expect: the weather here is so unpredictable! Last year I had beautiful tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, but nothing on it: was too hot and pollen died. I planted another crop as an experiment in July that came much better, but I planted too little. So this year I started indoor in January with hope that by the time heat hits this area the plants would pass their fertilization stage. We shell see... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He is a booger but I love 'em. Sad to hear your crop didn't fair so well last year. Looks like you have a few ideas of moving beyond it however. That is the thing with me, I do not like the idea of hobby gardening. By that I mean grow very few plants that end up producing very little. Its basically the same amount of work invested as if you had planted a large enough number in order to actually supplement your grocery bill.

      I'll be keeping an eye on how your 2012 plans work out. ;) There are two sprouted okra plants under grow lights right now waiting for last frost. Another month or two. Should be robust plants in that time!

      Delete