I have become a gardener!

As Sarah alluded to in her last post, she now has dirt in her sun room--on purpose. After spending the last 4 months looking forward to finally being able to grow something...it has arrived! I think this is going to be my major hobby going forward and I cannot wait for warmer weather so I can really get my hands (and knees) dirty outside!

Anyway, I started seeds indoors on Monday night for a few different veggies: artichokes, brussel sprouts, collard greens, onions, leeks, kohlrabi, broccoli, cabbage, and alpine strawberries (the lone fruit of the bunch). Some of these veggies will be ready to transplant outside in as little as 4 weeks while others (notably the strawberries) will have to stay indoors until the last frost of spring. The next two months will be spent growing some other stuff indoors, planting some seeds outdoors, and transplanting from indoors to outdoors...and I couldn't be more excited. This is my first time to try my hand at gardening and I expect a tough go while I figure things out. My goal is this: to be able to buy no produce from the supermarket from May through October of this year. I don't know if I can succeed but I am going to try.

When I tell people that I'm trying to grow a garden that will allow us a measure of self-suffiency in where we get a good portion of our food, they generally have one of two responses. They laugh and chalk it up to my eccentricity or they look at me like I'm a crazy man! I was inspired to do this for a handful of reasons:

1) I believe that the way Americans get most of their food is short-sighted, harmful to the environment, harmful to the people who eat it, and results in food that is, quite frankly, not that tasty.

2) If there were to be a huge shock to our supply system and gasoline went up to something over $5 a gallon, I would like to know that the cost of my produce was not going to go through the roof.  As oil gets more expensive in the future, normal people will no longer be able to afford fruit and vegetables shipped from halfway around the world.  Also, I don't think it's environmentally sound to use who knows how many gallons of oil/gasoline to ship food from far off places.

3) Fresh produce simply TASTES better!  'Nuff said...

4) There's something inherently good about growing your own food and all of the patience and hard work involved.  And, honestly, I think it will draw me closer to the Lord being reliant on him for the harvest.

Pictures will be forthcoming...