How To Choose What to Grow

I snagged a few books from my mother's house recently. It's amazing and not so surprising how trends often come full circle. I am currently reading A Taste of the Country by Pamela Westland published in 1974 (the year I was born). Back then my mom knitted, crafted, sewed, made her own bread, and had a kitchen garden.

I was only 4 when we moved but I remember cucumbers, raspberry canes, pumpkins growing near the sandbox...

Pamela Westland has a very smart approach to choosing what goes into your garden. She says it should be what you enjoy eating, what is easy to grow, and what tastes better super fresh (mind you most things do). She says not to waste your time on something that is very finicky. I think this is especially true of busy and inexperienced gardeners.

Here I will go through a simple exercise of charting what we like to eat, a few unusual plants to introduce, and then eliminate inexpensive locals or challenging locals.

What we like to eat:

GREENS
-kale
-mixed greens
-cilantro
-parsley
-spinach
-basil
-swiss chard (some)

HERBS
-oregano
-sage
-rosemary
-thyme

GENERAL VEGETABLES
-runner beans
-pole beans
-shelling peas
-carrots
-beets
-corn
-celery
-broccoli
-cauliflower

SQUASH
-butternut
-pumpkin

ALLIUMS
-onions
-green onions
-chives
-garlic

FRUIT
-apples
-avocados
-raspberries
-blueberries
-strawberries
-black currants
-gooseberries
-blackberries
-pears
-quince (okay I want to try)
-figs

FLOWERS ETC
-calendula

Covered Deck Plans

We have a large covered deck at ground level out back. This is because our property slopes down a hill towards the marina (we have stunning views). So the children's area opens to 1 half. And a suite opens to the other half.

We will keep the suite in tact in case we ever want to rent it for extra income. But while the kids are stompy I am reluctant to share the space. So until then it is ours and will be used as a summer kitchen/ children's kitchen (on childcare days).

Plans for the covered patio...

Children's Area:

1. 2 swings (1 for little ones) hanging from the beam
2. A sandbox on the deck
3. Horizontal slats for privacy and to hang some kid's activities/ games
4. An outdoor kids kitchen
5. A play table with a bucket water bin
6. Possible edging to keep tricycles from tumbling over the edge
7. A hammock or 2...

Mommy's Area:

1. A potter's table/ cabinet with room under it for a garbage pail of compost and a garbage pail of potting soil. 
2. A place to hang my gardening implements.
3. a cold frame at the south edge.
4. A laundry hanging system.
5. a boot scrub and place to hang boots.
6. A confortable outdoor chair or swing chair.

Garden Plans

The one virtue I have been focusing on this past year is patience. As a working mother with 2 small children (one born at the end of last March and consequently around the time of my last blog post), I have started to recognize that life moves forward and time will come when I can once again... sleep through the night, have a few hours to myself, have time to garden...

Next week we are hopefully going to get a bit of help to kickstart our garden with a visit from a local permaculture expert that is particularly interested in mushroom cultivation. The suburban sized garden is a blank slate. There is little growing here and the soil is poor. However, nature abounds in this sea of new builds. The empty lots, older lots, foot paths and nearby woods all provide a stunning ecosystem for insects, butterflies, birds, snakes, small animals, deer, coyote and sometimes wolves and bears. Bear poop just at the top of our driveway confirms nature and town are somewhat blurred here.

Since moving here I naturally moved towards the permaculture approach to gardens. As I watch my neighbours struggle to keep their gardens tidy and controlled, and the real estate companies cut down the grass on the unsold lots, I saw the beauty in the ways that nature fights back. And it seems much better sense to work with nature than against it.

I want to see a productive garden with food, herbs, and native plants. It should encourage a balanced ecosystem of visitors as long as they don't destroy the entire garden (yes I am talking about you deer!). I want to harnass rain water (abundant here) and take advantage of our sloped land. And I want to think long term even if I can't have everything I want right now (yes I am talking about you my beloved future hens.... sigh).

Goals for 2013:

1. Fencing to keep out deer, and maybe some live fencing to encourage them to graze on past. The fencing at the end of the property should not block the ocean view.
2. If possible homes for birds, bats and bees.
3. Grey water harvesting from downspouts. Ones near the back yard to ideally be piped to raised beds. Ones near the front to be collected in barrels.
4. Additional composter installed.
5. Bin for manure compost.
6. Bin for dry compost.
7. Cover for future woodpile.
8. 3-4 fruit trees.
9. Strawberry and Raspberries.
10. Gooseberries and black currant bushes.
11. Various vegetables and herbs.
12. Cold frame.
13. Lettuces etc on upper deck.
14. Mushroom cultivation.

Future Goals:

1. Small pond where spout comes out of raised part of the backyard.
2. Chicken coup.
3. Greenhouse.
4. Bees.

Oops, there are way more in the to do list for 2013. I guess I need to keep working on this patience thing...