Saturday, June 30, 2012

New Beginnings

Last post I ended with a quick comment on gardening.  Well D and I have been thinking, and doing, reading, and thinking even more and my brain is bursting with new knowledge, dreams and ideas I feel like Im not going to get any of it out.

Starting this year, we will be working on turning our lawns into food.  Bye-bye grass and Hello veggies, fruit, herbs (culinary and medicinal), and flowers to bring in the pollinators (bees, butterflies, etc).

As the gardening bug didn’t bite us in time to start a spring (late winter planting?) garden, I am busy getting parts ready for a summer planting so I can have goods to eat in the fall and hopefully on through the winter.

Yes a good part of the reason Im doing this is for cost savings.  Organic foods (meat excluded for the moment) are unbelievably expensive.  Much better for our family but egads some of the prices are terrifying!  Sure most on their own are somewhat reasonable but after a small cart is filled up, the pocket book is much lighter.

Another huge part is I know what my family will be eating.  Our yard will be (and has been) pesticide free and local.  While I love finding what new produce New Seasons has in this week, I stumble a bit at how far its traveled.  The time taken, the gas used and how little the farmer may have been actually paid to ship yummy apples from New Zealand to Oregon…the foot print that leaves is scary.  While Im thankful the store includes where the produce originates from, it does make me double think about placing that food in my cart and can I grow that in my yard.

The garden will be more of a permaculture style, quite different from a “normal” garden.  More freedom for both us and the plants.

Of course with all this gardening, we get to find ways to store all the goodies!

So now I will be including this new life path we are starting on in my posts and hope you enjoy the journey with me.

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