Originally from Montréal I've lived in Cornwall, Ontario since 1993. My gardening zone is 5a, and I had my very first garden more than 10 years ago. And now, 2011 makes for my third consecutive garden in a row.
Given that I like just about any sort of creative endeavor, I am surprised that I didn't think I'd enjoy gardening initially. I think it was the idea of the bugs and being out in the heat and getting dirty that put me off initially. I have a phobia about walking on grass, so I really wasn't trying to be playing around in the dirt.
I still had one young son at home though, so when I was offered a plot in a community garden within the complex that we lived in, I took it. I thought it would be a great learning experience for him and a fun project we could do together.
We had a little 4 x 8 plot that I planted green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers and corn. My son decided the cucumbers would be his domain, and in spite of the heat and the bugs and the dirt, I was in that garden every single day, weeding. I made sure there wasn't a single weed in that garden.
I had no idea what I was doing in that first garden. I had no clue about planting times and starting things indoors; not that I had the place to do it anyway. So, we never saw any green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots. I used seed tape for the carrots and nothing ever even sprouted; I made several attempts, but to no avail.
There was a little bit of corn; not much but a few ears. And those few ears looked like a gap - toothed old man, but what was there sure was tasty. I got the surprise of my life though when I pulled down the husk on one and saw that it was alive with earwigs. YUCK!
The green beans and the cucumbers were the only things that really grew a lot, and a tomato plant sprung up out of nowhere; no clue how it got there because I sure didn't plant it. I never liked tomatoes until I tasted one from that vine. I just couldn't get over the beans though. They were sooooo delicious; and they just kept giving and giving. I was picking green beans every other day! I even had to start giving some away. We didn't get much in the way of variety, but I was fine with having green beans and cucumber slices on our supper plate every night. I guess really really never tasted a cucumber or green beans or tomatoes until we ate them from our own garden.
What draws me to gardening is that I'm totally attracted to self sufficiency, and I aspire to that lifestyle. It's my dream to one day have my own little corner of this earth where I can grow all the veggies I want, have fruit trees and live off grid. I've always enjoyed making things for the home too, so I could have been totally down with the time when women would get together to do the canning, and make quilts and what not.
I really love all the girlie, nesting type activities like quilting, sewing, knitting and crochet. I was never happier than when I was sewing something for one of my kids. I like crafting and look forward to launching my backyard projects.
Given that I like just about any sort of creative endeavor, I am surprised that I didn't think I'd enjoy gardening initially. I think it was the idea of the bugs and being out in the heat and getting dirty that put me off initially. I have a phobia about walking on grass, so I really wasn't trying to be playing around in the dirt.
I still had one young son at home though, so when I was offered a plot in a community garden within the complex that we lived in, I took it. I thought it would be a great learning experience for him and a fun project we could do together.
We had a little 4 x 8 plot that I planted green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers and corn. My son decided the cucumbers would be his domain, and in spite of the heat and the bugs and the dirt, I was in that garden every single day, weeding. I made sure there wasn't a single weed in that garden.
I had no idea what I was doing in that first garden. I had no clue about planting times and starting things indoors; not that I had the place to do it anyway. So, we never saw any green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots. I used seed tape for the carrots and nothing ever even sprouted; I made several attempts, but to no avail.
There was a little bit of corn; not much but a few ears. And those few ears looked like a gap - toothed old man, but what was there sure was tasty. I got the surprise of my life though when I pulled down the husk on one and saw that it was alive with earwigs. YUCK!
The green beans and the cucumbers were the only things that really grew a lot, and a tomato plant sprung up out of nowhere; no clue how it got there because I sure didn't plant it. I never liked tomatoes until I tasted one from that vine. I just couldn't get over the beans though. They were sooooo delicious; and they just kept giving and giving. I was picking green beans every other day! I even had to start giving some away. We didn't get much in the way of variety, but I was fine with having green beans and cucumber slices on our supper plate every night. I guess really really never tasted a cucumber or green beans or tomatoes until we ate them from our own garden.
What draws me to gardening is that I'm totally attracted to self sufficiency, and I aspire to that lifestyle. It's my dream to one day have my own little corner of this earth where I can grow all the veggies I want, have fruit trees and live off grid. I've always enjoyed making things for the home too, so I could have been totally down with the time when women would get together to do the canning, and make quilts and what not.
I really love all the girlie, nesting type activities like quilting, sewing, knitting and crochet. I was never happier than when I was sewing something for one of my kids. I like crafting and look forward to launching my backyard projects.
