Yesterday morning Attila and I went for a stroll. It was above freezing, windy and felt very cold. We wore parkas, hats, and mitts as we walked the the grey, brown landscape. This morning, when opened the kitchen curtains, the world had turned green overnight. What a delight!
This morning we went for a stroll, I wore a flannel shirt, no jacket, and I felt too warm. What a difference a day can make.
Since the pantry project is complete, Attila has turned his gaze to the garden. Today he began to put together the first new raised bed. Laying down first hardware cloth, then landscape fabric, he assembled the first half of the bed. He will put large logs on the bottom, knotty logs that would not split for firewood, from the dead ash trees on our property. The next layer will be yard waste. The top level will be soil. It is important to get the first bed up and running, as it will soon be time to plant our seeds for starts.
The new raised bed is made out of galvanized steel. There are four sections to assemble, each weighing around 30 pounds. Eventually we will have to order a load of soil to use when we construct the remaining five raised beds.
These beds are a significant investment for us. The hope is that we will be able to grow even more of our own vegetables, and herbs. I am particularly keen to expand the garden to include more root vegetables, as they keep so well into the winter months.
I was looking at an aerial photograph of our property, we stand out in the neighbourhood, we look like a small farm! No one else near us uses their land to grow food. Urban farming seems to be a practical way to address food the cost of food issues, it is working for us. A yard like ours is not needed, people are so innovative, there are front yard gardens on small lots, container gardens, and even thriving balcony gardens in apartment buildings. This isn’t common, more is the pity, as the food that is produced can be organic, and relatively inexpensive.
I’ve read critiques on gardening, claiming that it costs more to produce a tomato in your garden than it does to buy one. Compare that homegrown organic tomato, picked and enjoyed at the height of ripeness, to a similar product at the grocery store, if you can find it. It isn’t cheaper than growing your own. Gardening on any scale has other benefits, fresh air, working with the soil, spending time in the sunshine, and getting some exercise, better than a gym membership by my reckoning. It can be a practical and admirable obsession, a hobby with benefits.
The first two panels are assembled, each weighing over 30 pounds, two more will complete the raised bed.
Worldly
Weather
15°C
Date: 7:00 PM EDT Saturday 19 April 2025
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.2 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 15.0°C
Dew point: 9.2°C
Humidity: 68%
Wind: WSW 30 gusts 40 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.”
John F. Kennedy
1917 – 1963
I’m glad you enjoy the gardening! That Kennedy is so missed…..