Gardens

I really, really love having a garden! Yesterday we picked 5 cucumbers and tomatoes. Today we picked enough strawberries to have with lunch. I'm so glad we planted everbearing berries. They just keep producing all season long. In about another week we will have tomatoes coming out of our ears. We have been getting about 3 a day for a while now, but it looks like we are going to have a couple of bushels pretty soon. Our cucumber plants have been amazing this year- maybe all the rain and cool weather at the beginning of the season?

Anyway, this challenge has really shown me that having a garden really makes a difference. Of course we can survive on what's in the basement, but I have really enjoyed having the fresh veggies with our meals. I still have a long way to go on my gardening skills, weeding especially, but it is so nice to know we can run out back and pick something to go with dinner. It's really caused me to stop and think about how our ancestors must have felt about their gardens. If their gardens failed, they couldn't run up to Walmart and buy it. It also meant that they wouldn't have anything to can or dry to put into their storage for winter. We are so fortunate that we don't have to rely on our gardens the way they did, although you never know when we might have to. I think gardening is a skill that everyone should at least be aware of and I think I'm going to add seeds to my food storage. You just never know.