Saturday, March 27, 2010

Simplicity is neither Simple nor Easy...or, Things I've done today...

Slept in...thank you, Most Wonderful Husband In the Whole Wide World...

Snuggled with munchkins whilst enjoying PBS kids and a second cup of coffee before it got cold...

Took Jacob out shopping for another sweatshirt/fleece since he has now lost the second of two at school...thank goodness for second-hand stores! None of us have a surplus of outerwear (with the exception of someone's "tactical" gear...cough, cough), so the poor child has been wearing his too small hooded fleece from last year for the past three days!

Wandered through Southern States with Jacob gathering seeds and seedlings...all the while explaining exactly why it was we weren't purchasing the chicken coop (chickens requiring far more care than we can give right now and all that).

Dug in the dirt...our "polycultural" veggie bed experiment is underway...all the while admiring the awesome raised beds Sean and Jacob put together for this! The family that grows together...um...grows together...or something...

Cleaned out old pots, re-potted with fresh herb seedlings...

Dug in the dirt some more...planted seeds indoors for seedlings to go in the "traditional" semi-monocultural veggie bed...

Planted marigold seeds around "traditional" bed...

Realized that some things never change as I'm filling pots, look over and see my gloves laying on the bench beside me...why do I even own gardening gloves?

Looked back over my veggie bed diagrams and realized I can't even decipher my own key and writing...so I decided to just wing it...that seems to work out well for us.

Tired...wondering--as always--if I've bitten off more than we can chew...or preserve...

Ending the day watching "Police Academy" with the husband...who, for some reason, keeps shushing me every time I snicker at Tackleberry's zany antics...

Pretty good day, I'd say.

19 comments:

Donia said...

you've still got over a month until the official "last frost" for central VA...take it easy :)

Dori said...

and the tomatoes, peppers, okra and cucumber seedlings will be ready to go outside right about then...the seeds out in the beds will stay nice and toasty...if not, I only used about a quarter of my seeds just in case. And don't mock--you guys are going to help consume all of this!

Christina RN LMT said...

Holy crap! I get tired just READING your post. Sounds like an all-around fabulous day, though. Sometimes I think it's a pity I don't have a green thumb...then I realize how lazy I am and figure it's probably a good thing.

Momma Val said...

Hallelujah! Sounds so good to get out and dig and sleep in? WOW! Have not done that for years!!! Maybe one day? Being outside and planting and thrift stores too. All good! I got to prune my birch trees and roses while son played in the cold wet sand box and got all slopped up. All fabulous til the cries came from the monitor.

Glad to know that you have two and have arrived at a point where you can do all the good things again. I'm not there yet and I get a little frustrated and antsy with all I want to do in yard and house and well, etc. I'm sure you know :)

Dori said...

Christina, the ironic thing is...the authors of one of the books I have, "The Urban Homesteader", are huge supporters of "no dig" gardening... lots of mulch, compost and raised beds. They call themselves "lazy gardeners". And today I was all...as if! If this is "lazy" then please don't show me the hard way!

MissKris said...

"Why do I even own gardening gloves?" Boy, I hear you on THAT one, sister friend! :-D

Meadowlark said...

Can't wait for the preserving part!!! My fave.

mrs. fuzz said...

Sounds like a good day to me!

Marit said...

sounds like your house is the place to be in about... three months or so?

Christina RN LMT said...

Wow. I see the "hard way" every day, because my landlord/roommate is a huge gardener. The man never rests.

Dori said...

Marit...don't tease me!

CM said...

Yay for a good day!

Our seedlings are growing RIGHT NOW, literally as I type this!

Marit said...

not teasing, just wishing I could be there to enjoy the bounty! ;-)

Anita said...

I agree with Christina LMT...reading what's going on in your head almost game me an anxiety attack. :)

Go for it! All of it! :)

Unknown said...

Oooooh - I'm going to start referring to winter wear as "tactical gear". This makes me stupidly happy.

Julia said...

I've gotten a wild hair this year over growing "heirloom" varieties and had a great deal of fun buying mail order seeds from the SSE. Now, I'm realizing I might have been a bit overly ambitious. There is such a thing as too many kinds of beans. :)

BTW - bought a coffee plant in your honor. Don't have the first idea what to really do with it, but figured I'd wing it. Plus, I'm using it as an excuse that I need a huge greenhouse (really, more so I can grow tomatoes year round).

Dori said...

I'm...I'm so happy! :) I actually know more about the picking/drying end of the coffee process than I do about the actual growing part...I know they like moist soil, but you really don't have to mess with it too much. I've seen it with corn and other crops planted all through the rows or just on it's own. Winging it is always good!

I found a great batch of heirloom tomato seeds last year...can't find any this year. I may order some from Monticello (yes, *that* one).

Anonymous said...

I LOVE this post! Something about spring and planting and growing our own food. This year I think I'm going to try growing my garden in the soil bags. I've read about it and since we've had to re-locate and are renting, this seems to be the smartest way to grow my garden this year! I'm really looking forward to it.

(And I think there is something deeply gratifying in having dirt under my fingernails after a day of planting and weeding. It's proof that I've been "working".)

Dori said...

Hi, Ladybug! Welcome to the madness! I've had great success with planting straight in the soil bags and in containers. I attempted planting in straw bales last year and it was a dismal failure. I think the location was wrong--not enough full sun. But the bales are providing great compost for this year! :)