Good evening. It is 8:29pm on a dark January night. On this evening, auspicious in its inauspiciousness, I am committing to build a garden.
My mission: to start from scratch and stumble through growing food. I have read the books on agriculture, vegetarianism, I've been lectured to, and I've even lectured some myself. I have tasted the splendor of others' produce, and despite all this, I have exactly zero real experience. By July of this year, 2010, I will bring to life a small garden in my backyard. As a symbol of my success, I will host a dinner party exactly six months from today, on July 14th. I will feed my guests selections from the garden. We will eat three courses augmented in flavor and joy by the bounty of my harvest. You are invited.
Like Novella Carpenter and Michael Pollen, Alice Waters and Jonathan Safran Foer, I am taken with the possibilities, the importance, the joy in this project, and I see some added value in writing about it. But unlike them, I am a total and complete novice. So, this will be a blog devoted to the maturing of both garden and gardener. One starts out as a snowy grassy mess behind my house, the other a well-read and idealistic, but totally clueless young woman. I hope half a year from now, things will be different.
I will use as my guide: the internet, books from the library, and anyone willing to offer their thoughts. Please join me in this project, whether in effort, advice, criticism, or thought. Tomorrow I will write again, with an assessment of what I've got, and what I need to get started.
HOORAY!
Sara
p.s. just for kicks and because i'm a bit of a music junkie, you will find the words of songs as my post titles. if you want to play the "name that lyric's song title & artist" game, feel free to post your guesses in the comments! I'll post the answer in the next day's post.
yay! i commend you on this project, sara, and i can't wait to hear more about your progress. all the best! carmella
ReplyDeleteSo as i recall the mother in Julia and Julie (whatever) was a skeptic. Do i have to play that role? This sounds ambitious and fun. I'm sure you'll find enough containers. Maybe local farms will give you seeds--I mean you don't need much!
ReplyDeleteI returned from the UK to find the compost I left a week ago now fully mature and totally disgusting where i left it in the kitchen. Today it will join nature and, like yours', hopefully improve the soil for things the deer won't eat. You don't have deer near your place? Love, Mom
Wonderful wonderful! I think this site may be helpful to you in your endeavor (which is already inspiring me to finally build my compost heap :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.johnjeavons.info/