It is late
summer here in Western Maine, and that means that this season’s harvest is
almost over! This year’s crop has brought us an abundance of garlic, peaches,
and tomatoes (and, of course, zucchini!). And so, we thought it would be the
perfect time to answer some of your more popular gardening questions.
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| Lynda and Bill, each holding a platter of this year's garlic crop! |
First off,
did you know that Bill actually studied botany and cooking in college, not
jewelry making? It’s true! Bill attended
SMBTI for Plant and Soils Technology: which means he studied horticulture
(mostly plant identification). He has been an avid gardener ever since he was a
little kid. Long ago, when living in Fryeburg, he grew nothing but
perennial flowers. It was only when Bill and Lynda moved to Lovell that he
began to grow his own vegetable garden.
And what a
garden it is! Folks, we often show you our front lawn and the gorgeous flowers
that Bill can coax out of our rocky ground, but it is not that frequently that
we unveil the back lawn. Spanning 1,300 square feet, the vegetable garden
provides enough basics to last throughout the winter and next spring: namely
veggies and herbs like green beans and garlic. Bill tends to two raised beds,
one in-ground bed, various pots of herbs, and several fruit trees that are
scattered throughout the back yard.
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| A few of our herbs! |
How do you
go about starting up a garden though? Surely you can’t be expected to jump in
the deep end and start up a garden of that size? You are correct: if you are
just beginning a garden, keep it small! Whether the purpose of your garden is
for home-grown food, or just for fun, taking on
So start
small. Begin with just a couple vegetables that you will use and enjoy (and
will happily continue to use and enjoy multiple times over during the plentiful
harvest). Plant these in raised beds to help defer critters, and think about
adding an irrigation system. This could be as simple as a bit of tubing with
holes poked in it!
Begin your
herb garden small as well: perhaps just basil and parsley to begin with. Herbs
can be easily grown in pots, and so lend themselves to quick and simple
maintenance. Fruit trees can be somewhat tricky to maintain at first, but they
are well worth it. After the initial tedium of protecting your trees from
disease and bugs, they require fairly little maintenance. The hardest part
about tending fruit trees is the long wait between harvest seasons! |
| Our wonderful peach tree! |
What we
really want to get across is that gardening should be pleasant and gratifying! And it is only when
gardening is made enjoyable that it is truly rewarding. If you don’t want to
spend long hours toiling in the dirt under the hot summer sun, don’t! Work in
window planters or flower pots. Install an easy watering system to make lazy
days a breeze. Don’t plant too much so that the processing (watering, weeding,
picking, canning, freezing, etc) overwhelms you and sucks the joy out of an
otherwise pleasant summer afternoon.
As the
years roll by and you grow accustomed to the trials and tribulations of growing
your own food, then think about expanding your garden. Some additions will
naturally fall into place: planting a few more pots of herbs, adding a new
lettuce that will fill out that wonderful salad of yours, etc. Others, like the
decision to buy a fruit tree or to begin a sandy pumpkin patch, will take more
thought. Either way, keep it fun and stay healthy! Have a great rest of the
summer! |
| Bill and his prized 8ft sunflower!! |
nice post
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