Today is a beautifully dreary kind of day. Rainy and about 50 F in June. In Spring this kind of weather was annoying, but now that we've had a few hot and dry days of Summer, I'm enjoying the unseasonable weather. Plus, the garden really needed the rain. I've just been sitting upstairs and staring out the window at the little plants and the apple tree. I really love my new raised garden beds. I don't think I've expressed that enough. They are so neat and tidy and comfortable to garden in. The soil looks rich right now in the rain, all nice and black. I was beyond proud of my soil quality before [you know, before I found out it was contaminated], and I wasn't excited about starting over with purchased soil. It was really sad to not see any worms when planting my transplants. But now I think this soil is beginning to be more alive. It has a lot of composted manure in it and the plants appear to be happy: Everything survived the transplanting and my seeds have sprouted for the beans, kale, radishes, beets and carrots.
I wish everyone could have a garden in their backyard. Just think of how different our food systems would be if we didn't depend on California for 1/3 of our food supply. If everyone grew whatever basic vegetables and fruits that they could each year. I mean, initially it would be tough for farmers. They'd have to change what they grew (but they'd be a lot more respected if everyone got a taste of farming in their backyard). We wouldn't depend on big trucks, trains, and planes to get dinner on the table. We'd eat a heck of a lot more vegetables (when you grow something yourself, you don't let it go waste in your crisper. It gets eaten). Gardening can have such a huge impact on our health and environment - it's encouraging to see so many people starting gardens this year.
There's a couple of super cool sounding programs at the IATP this month on Victory gardens and local food. Everyone who lives around here should go!
That's probably enough rambling about gardens for now.
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