little black journal

After spending a year on the waiting list, Shane and I found out on Thursday night that a plot had opened up for us in our neighborhood’s P-Patch.  We debated for a moment over whether or not we wanted the added responsibility of another garden, but after thinking about the pros and cons, and then realizing that several of the cons were actually pros (having to take a 10-minute walk out to the garden a few nights a week to water it is in fact a very good thing for us), we snatched it up.  And so 80 square feet of fertile soil was ours, for a ridiculously small annual fee and the simple commitment to ‘actively garden’ our plot (in other words, make a reasonable effort to grow something other than weeds).  Today was planting day, and after a trip to Lowe’s and our favorite local nursery, we were ready to roll.  In the space of a couple of hours, we dropped in tomatoes, strawberries, snap peas, lemon cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, three kinds of salad greens, cilantro, and a row of carrot and beet seeds, left over from our April backyard planting.  When the weather warms up just a little more, we’ll plant a couple of different peppers.  I am thrilled by the possibilities of fresh salads and homemade salsas, so I’m hoping we’ll start off Farm Schnell with a banner crop.  We’ll see…  If nothing else, this will be a great opportunity for us to get outside together in the evenings and connect with our neighbors who are growing their own gardens right next to ours.  Alright – that’s not completely the truth – the promise of quality time isn’t quite enough:  GROW, little plants, GROW!!!