Fall Gardens

Its been a while. The garden and kids have kept my wife and I very busy. Summer planting came and went. The squash plants are already huge and I have zucchini almost ready to pick. I finally got the drip system finished tonight. Now the corn is on the system, so the only things not on a drip system are my fruit trees and some blackberries. I still have plans for more blackberries, so that isn't a problem.

We were inundated with lettuce and peas. We couldn't keep up with them, so we gave some to friends who did the local farmer's market. We also have been sharing with friends and neighbors. The lettuce is bolting so much now that I'm not sure that we'll be eating much of our own until September.

We were late getting the Swiss Chard in, so we can substitute with it in the meantime. I still plan on planting more. We will also be starting several varieties of lettuce indoors in a few weeks for Fall planting. We'll be doing Romaine, butterhead and more leaf lettuce. I'll probably do some spinach too. I will be pulling up the current peas once they stop blossoming and will plant more for the Fall.

The bush beans are thriving, but I am a little late getting the pole beans in for Fall. They need cooler weather for better production.

The carrots didn't do terribly well, but I didn't really expect them to thrive in the cool weather. I'll be getting several varieties in this week. I am really looking forward to trying out the SugarSnax variety that was recommended for excellent taste and sweetness.

I think the best thing about all the work is seeing my oldest kids taking responsibility for weeding, watering and harvesting. The work is good for their character development, and it is often a good opportunity to talk about important things to us. The additional benefit is seeing all but my second son eating vegetables right out of the garden. he eats the fruit, but get him near the peas or broccoli.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

Spring Gardens

Now is the time to be planting your spring garden if you live in Utah. My family and I are working hard to prepare our spring garden planting boxes and transplanting the onions and lettuce that overwintered.

Starting a small garden and working your way up is a great way to into gardening. Make it simple and as you learn, you will want to expand. Take the hard knocks as they come and learn to appreciate your successes. It is a learning process.

I was miserable with my initial failures and gave up for years until I start using square foot gardening. I had some success with it and have sought out more productive methods. I do not regret using that method as it got me kick started into gardening. I now understand why it is not the best method for gardening, but if I hadn't started with it, I doubt that I would have ever gotten into gardening. Now I can't stop thinking about what I am going to plant and harvest.

I would recommend finding a good mentor. I've been lucky to have a very generous one in Gordon Wells who grew up on a farm and got a Masters in Agriculture, even though he was a lawyer by trade.

Remember, wheat is not food storage if you have nothing to eat with it. Gardening is a great way to save money on produce, it helps relieve stress and it helps to bring parents and children together in a worthwhile effort.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

The Value of Failure

Is it a bad thing to fail? I recently had a child who wanted to accomplish something that he said was important to him not follow through. In the end, he found that he would not earn the recognition that he was seeking. Though I was disappointed that he didn't do his part to earn the recognition, I found that the experience was good for him.

He learned that good things don't always come easily and that without effort and a good attitude, he may fail to achieve his goals. It was a learning experience for him because of his failure.

In much the same manner, preparing for future events that may occur is an experience filled with opportunity to succeed of fail. I failed for years to do gardening right. I tried on my own with a poor excuse of a gardening book to get a garden to work. I neither put the effort into the garden, or research.

After several years of licking my wounds, I tried again with more research and much more effort in the garden. With small successes, my confidence grew. With more research and some good mentoring, I am moving beyond my initial scope to a much grander scale. Success has come with knowledge and effort.

My wife and I are working on learning more about storing what we grow. We have been successful in storing dry goods, but it is now time for us to go even further. In the process, we are educating our children in self-sufficiency and a good work ethic. It is not always easy, but it is definitely worth the effort, and we are seeing the dividends.

Don't bite off more than you can chew, but do bite and chew. Once you get the sweet savor of success in your effort, you will want more.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.