I just got back inside after checking the crops out in our organic garden, which I water at night to reduce losses of water to evaporation.The corn is growing nicely, peas (Asian and snow) and beans (black and string) providing fertilizer (nitrogen), and the squash (zucchini) growing between corn stalks has taken hold. (yes, I am giving the famous "Three Sisters" technique a whirl). I've also got some herbs (basil, rosemary, oregano, cilantro, sage, dill, spearmint, peppermint), cucumber, lettuce, hot peppers, eggplant, green onions, and carrots, on top of three apple trees, two peach trees, a pear tree and a fig tree. To attract pollinators, we've planted native California wildflowers (lupines, poppies, clarkia's, tidy tips, bird's eyes, gilia, Chinese houses, and baby blue eyes, among others) around the garden and our property - they are beautiful. Where do we live - out in the country? No - all this in our humble little El Cerrito, California yard. Bay Area suburbia!
Gardening is wonderfully relaxing and satisfying. The crops are tasty and fresh, help cut our food costs, require no use of fossil fuel to get to the store to buy them, and best of all - we grew them! Sure the snails are a pain, and we're still working out how to best keep them from chomping down the young green leaf lettuce (we have a great organic spray that works wonders with the flying insects who'd otherwise feast on our food). But with peak oil in sight, I figure better to start learning how to grow my own food now, before rising oil prices and biofuels demand cause food prices to skyrocket.
The Wall Street Journal's Real Estate Section has a nice article today about this rising trend in living green by growing our own food. Have a good read in the summary provided by our friends at Treehugger, who link to the article. And have a good weekend - be sure to enjoy some time outside!
