My Little backyard garden

After more than 50 trips around the sun I’ve started to garden. Not in the “look at all the pretty flowers” kind of way but in the “what if we might be facing food insecurity?” way. My adult son mentioned he really wanted to learn how to grow vegetables, just in case. So we started this adventure together and we’ve both learned alot.

If no one ever reads this I’m ok with that. I’m neither a good writer nor a skilled gardener. What I am is concerned about our planet and I welcome critique on all aspects. This is my first Substack so I have no idea if I’m doing it right.

I’ve always loved dandelions. They announce Spring is here.

They are also the bees first food source. That bright yellow splash of colour brings a sense of renewal after a long, cold Canadian winter. They inspired me to think beyond pretty flowers and start to think about how much bounty the earth provides.

I started this process last year with a 4 × 8 bed and some starter plants from the garden centre. Tomatoes, squash, chili peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and corn. I failed miserably with corn due to my own poor preparation and understanding of the needs of the corn. The zucchini over produced! The largest zucchini that came out was 3 pounds and there were multiple meals enjoyed from those two zucchini plants. I wish I had thought to take pictures.

The squash would have been a success had I not been impatient and picked it too soon. Lessons learned. The beefsteak and cherry tomatoes were incredibly successful and yielded so much fruit we were able to give some away, so much yield from six plants. Roasted cherry tomatoes are delicious!

The cucumbers were a variety of pickling cucumbers that produced 6 jars of pickles. Another first for me, pickling.

The chili peppers were air dried and ground into chili powder using an old school mortar and pestle. Our eyes burned while grinding, and it must be used sparingly because it is the hottest chili powder I have ever tasted!

This year we planted beefsteak and cherry tomatoes, zucchini, kale, broccoli, jalapeños and chili peppers, potatoes in buckets, green onions, cucumbers, red leaf lettuce and carrots. The cukes and carrots were direct sowed from seed. The onions and leaf lettuce were regrown from farmers market purchases. All the others were starter plants from the nursery. We decided to grow a few of the herbs we use the most and they are flourishing in the raised bed. We have a short growing season here, zone 6a, and the weather can turn very quickly so being pragmatic needed to overrule starting from seed.

This season started late so the progress hasn’t been as great as it was last year, but we expanded this year to two 4 × 8 plots along with two raised beds and potatoes in buckets. The seed potatoes I found in the back of my cupboard that had been forgotten and were silently attempting to take over the kitchen. They seem much happier now in the outdoors.

I’m looking forward to seeing the progress this year, and expanding next year even further. This has been one of the most rewarding learning experiences of my life. Seeing the pride on my son’s face when we sit down to a meal of vegetables we grew is the best part. Maybe it’s just me but when you grow your own food it seems to taste better.

It wasn’t as expensive as I had initially thought it would be. All the plants were $3 for a four pack and the wood for the beds we had just sitting around. I did not invest in the most expensive soil but it’s working. We started a composter last year as well and now we have beautiful soil coming from waste otherwise destined for the landfill. I did need to purchase the wire mesh to surround the garden because we have a lot of rabbits and their free ride is over. I’m learning about weed tea and started the “chop and drop” method of returning any cuttings back to the ground.

What used to be a manicured shade garden is now being left wild. We have a lot of toads and this shade garden has provided them with a nice habitat. You can’t see it in the picture but I’ve placed little trays of water in the garden for them to get a drink. They in turn take care of the nuisance bugs. I like to say we’re in a relationship, a symbiotic relationship.

One toad in particular comes every night and sits on my back door. In the picture he’s giving a high five and I tell myself he’s saying thank you. No, Mr Toad, thank you for gracing me with your presence.

I would love to incorporate a small pond because the sound of the water is therapy to me and the wildlife it would attract brings me joy. The area where I live has banned backyard chickens. My future goal is to live somewhere that I can have chickens for the eggs, and maybe some goats for the milk and comedy. Goats are hilarious. A pony would also be nice but that’s probably my nine year old self speaking.

If you’ve read this and have any tips or suggestions I welcome your comments.

Thank you!