A rainy afternoon day dream...


I'm day dreaming about lush pastures which stretch as far as the eye can see. There are various old, majestic shade and fruit trees dotting the vista. Approximately half an acre is devoted to an abundant garden overflowing with all manner of fruits and vegetables. To the South of the property lies a particularly lovely field with a small heard of dairy goats milling about, grazing on fescue, rye and wild flowers. There's a chicken coop and run close to the old farmhouse. The chickens free range all day, scratching for insects and unwittingly complimenting the rich dark soil beneath their feet. Their beautiful eggs, in shades ranging from cream to chocolate, are harvested by the basket full every morning. A small brook runs through the edge of the property. In it's cool, bubbling current swim tiny trout fry which mature to inhabit the nearby lake. A dog barks as it runs towards the long covered porch of the old farmhouse. A pie is cooling on the window sill. The air is redolent with cinnamon, apple and Spring. A quaint red barn provides shelter for the goats at night. Within are milking stalls and dusty farm equipment. Lovely fresh milk is poured warm over cooked steel cut oats studded with fresh berries for breakfast. Sometimes the milk is reincarnated as a creamy wheel of pungent cheese. A coold, dark root cellar below the farmhouse ages the cheese and stores the bounty of the garden. Jarred vegetables line its' shelves in neat rows... sacks of onions, garlic and potatoes are piled high. Crunchy pickles beckon invitingly. My children run and play in the fields without a care. Life here is simple and honest...

Garden & Landscaping plans for Spring...



February is a good month. I rip January off my calendar with great relish and anticipation. Here in Sunset Zone 14, otherwise known as Zone 9, bed preparation for cool weather Spring vegetables gets under way. I have a couple of organic garden beds prepared already but my big project heading in to Spring is a bed that runs the length of the driveway in front of my house. I have plans to put terraced raised beds along its' length as my driveway is basically on a hill. These beds will not be used for cool weather vegetables (at least not this year) but will be prepared lovingly for a robust Summer vegetable garden. The bed is a total of 64 square feet and trust me when I say that every square inch will be utilized. I will be able to supply my family of four with all of our vegetables for at least 6 months out of this one bed. Once completed, I will mix in compost, a healthy dose of bat guano, sea kelp and earthworm castings - the holy trinity. I will have my first crimson heirloom tomatoes in Early July. Good stuff. Until then, in other beds, there will be lettuce of every sort (I think I bought 8 heirloom organic varieties this year) spinach, carrots, swiss chard, cabbage, broccoli, all from my favoritist seed company in the world, These cool weather vegetables will actually be started by seed - indoors under lights at the end of February. They will be set out with provisional cloches in just a few weeks. I have a very nice bed in front of my house and a HUGE raised bed in the back, 20 ft. x 10 ft., that I've used for cool weather crops. I'm also composting like crazy and practicing crop rotation so that the soil will suffer less fatigue and the plants less disease.