04 April 2013

D is for Dreams


And I'm dreaming of dirt, as in garden dirt. High on my list of priorities this year is improving my soil, in large part so it holds moisture better. My raised beds look pretty good:

It's not black Minnesota soil, but it's a lot better than the anemic prairie dust in other places around the property. It's also free of pesticides and herbicides. All that improvement came from clean top soil, compost, and poop from local cows and chickens.

I worry about what I'll be able to grow around here as the weather heats up. We're still in a major drought area and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. Water is plentiful and cheap in my town, a situation that says more about bad leadership than reality. Conservation will have to start soon or we'll simply run out of water like the next town over. My planning includes all kinds of sustainable gardening methods from all over the world, like my own keyhole gardens - I'll talk about those in subsequent posts. But this map hints at what is in store for a large section of the U.S. this year.

Dreams - I hope there will be more to my gardening efforts than that. I'd like to be able to grow and put up most of my vegetables for the next year. I've never succeeded in that, but I think it's a worthy goal. Have you ever tried it?

Speaking of dreams, here's a terrific book by a city gal who met her true love and took a completely different career and life path into The Dirty Life.

Kristen Kimball now works a draft-horse powered farm with her husband. I loved this book, and her blog is a fair treat too. Be sure to bookmark it and visit often. Look at the dirt in her seed flats!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good word and post, loved the read.

Yvonne.

Judy said...

We just pulled carrots and beets from our garden last night. They've been growing all winter. Love having a garden!

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

I have the touch of death when it comes to plants; if I look at it funny it dies :). I hope you succeed in your dream.

Crystal Collier said...

Dirt... If you were in Florida it would be "sand." Well aerated I suppose...

Nancy Jardine Author said...

I've got five fruit trees ready to plant this weekend with my tiny granddaughter. Yt's still frosty in my part of Scotland but last week's snow everntually melted today. (ps I made your brownie recipe. They tasted delicious but sagged during cooling. I think maybe I'm a better writer/ gardener than a baker!)

Dani said...

Nancy, mine sagged too, and I think that is simply the way of brownies. I make mine with coconut oil and love the taste and bit of extra gooey moisture.

Shaunda said...

Love the dreams post! Good luck with your garden. I love growing vegies, and manage to put some away every fall to see us through most of winter. It always seems strange to buy produce at the store...

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