How dirt helped us meet our neighbors

One of the first things that we did when we moved into our house 2 1/2 years ago was kill all the grass in our yard and turn the space into a big garden.  It obviously drew the attention of our neighbors as we had cardboard flattened out filling the space and our chicken coop in the front of the house to take advantage of their fertilizing waste.   At that time, we were surely seen as very odd to our neighbors.  Our direct neighbors politely and directly asked, "Aren't chickens for the country?" conveying their discomfort with our feathered friends.  We moved ahead with our plan and before we knew it had zucchini to hand out to passersby and cherry tomatoes coming out our ears.  

During the countless evenings we spent out in the garden- planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting, we would come to meet many of our neighbors who would walk by.  Just one of the perks of not having cable!  There are the moms who bring their kids over to pick tomatoes and strawberries, the grandmas who don't speak English, but point to different plants, trying to get us to understand the name of the plan in their native tongue, the fellow gardeners who swap tips and seeds with us.  The garden quickly became a gathering place.  In the heat of the summer, when our windows are left open, we can often hear Chinese speaking women gathering outside the fence pointing and talking about the different things growing 

     To enrich our garden, we order a big load of compost and share it with our neighbors. 

 We stole the idea from Luke's parents, who have been doing it for years.  People can either take it by the bucketful or wheelbarrow and pay for what they use.  It's one of my favorite weeks of the year and it happened last week, during the stretch of 80 degree weather we had in April in Portland.  For a week straight, neighbors are knocking on our door and windows.  When I check the mailbox for letters, cash falls out.  

There were several times when people were waiting to borrow the wheelbarrow, so they were "forced" to talk to one another as they waited.  I got to re-acquaint myself with my neighbors from China, Vietnam, El Salvador, Mexico, Syria, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and so many other places I lost track.  Perhaps one of my favorite memories was a Saturday morning, when there was a knock on our bedroom window at 7:15am.  I was awake, and Luke was in our room with Dahlia.  I went out and played charades with the woman who lives a few houses down, insinuating that she should come back in ten minutes.  I left and returned to our house at 10:00am, to find her cooing songs to Dahlia, meanwhile, Luke was wheeling ten loads of compost to her house.  We hadn't intended on becoming a delivery service, but it worked.  Compost season is a reminder of spring that is coming and it is when folks start coming out of their winter hibernation.  We are grateful for the diversity in our neighborhood and the chances that we get to meet and befriend those who live around us.   

remembering summer

Aa the weather dipped into below freezing temperatures this week and we had a "snow day", it seems like an appropriate time to post some of the highlights from our first summer of gardening.  we had so much fun planting and experimenting and then enjoying the bounty of our harvest!  we successfully grew: tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, basil, carrots, beets, potatoes, basil, jalapenos, bell peppers, 1 sweet meat squash (that took over half the garden with its vines), green onions, garlic, kale, zucchini, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.  we were most pleased with our zucchini and tomato plants, as well as the strawberries.  amos found a strawberry today, midway through november! 

next year, we hope to grow more cucumbers, broccoli, and cabbage, as well as figure out how to grow bigger onions.  we started as many things as we could from seed inside the house before transplanting them and will continue that method.  luke's favorite guide to gardening was Steve Solomon's Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades.

warning: lots of photos to follow.  i just couldn't narrow it down any further!

here's the bounty of the earth!

How to: start plants indoors

{mogli, this post is for you!}

 

our "salad bowl" about three weeks after planting

as spring is upon us next week, our minds drift to visions of gardens, canning salsa, picnics in the yard, barefoot in the grass, naps in the hammock, terere, laundry on the line, and so much more.  but first things first: gardens!  living in Portland, we can't put things in the ground just yet, but we can start things indoors to transplant outside when the danger of frost has passed or after May 15th.

Luke is taking the Master Gardeners course through the OSU Extension this spring, so each week, I get to hear about all the neat things he learns about, like pruning trees and propagating herbs. :) 
before you get too ambitious, make sure you check out a vegetable planting calendar for where you live to see when you should plant certain things and which ones are good for transplanting/which ones should be sowed directly outdoors. If you're in Portland, I recommend this one from the Portland Nursery. 

after you have your planting schedule figured out, gather your supplies.

you'll need:
*potting soil (better for the seeds than dirt from your yard because it is more porous which allows more water and air to get to the seed)
*something to plant in (we've used everything from old sour cream containers to the simple black trays you can get at any nursery)
*seeds (for the pnw, we like territorial seeds because they are adjusted to our climate and are used to our growing season)

now you're ready to rock and roll.  planting is simple.  looking at the back of each seed, you will find the depth at which you should plant.  a rule of thumb is that you want to plant each seed twice its size deep in the soil.  i typically use my finger or a pencil to poke holes.  then, drop the seeds in, cover them with soil, spritz with water and voila!  we've been putting our lettuce outside during the day so that it gets used to the weather.  our tomatoes and kale, on the other hand, have been living next to our window, under a fluorescent light bulb which we're trying out to see if it helps them grow quicker. 

 

and now our fingers are crossed that we'll have a new house soon to plant this wonderful vegetable garden at!

side note/tip from my mom: in a vase of fresh tulips, stick a penny in the water and it will help them last longer.  old wive's tale?  i'm willing to try it out!