Humble beginnings

Baby greens, cucumber, dried tomato, red wine vinigrette 100% local

Tiny tom tomatoes and Serrano Peppers

 This is exciting, Feels like a new bicycle. I feel great about this new chapter or life. I feel that it's a necessary one. What we have happening, across the globe is a movement. A movement focused on healthy living. Healthy for our bodies, our souls, our children. And most importantly our planet. You might ask why I put the most importance on the planet. It's simple, if we don't take care of it, it will not take care of us. This movement is not about making advances as a society, not about technology, it's about learning that maybe, just maybe the best thing we can do as people to move forward is to take a step backwards. Some call it  slow food, some the locavore, others organics. I don't think those are broad enough terms as they apply only to what we eat. I want to be a part of something more than that. What I want to be a part of is the Heritage movement, where we not only eat organically, but locally, and slowly. We labor ourselves for our food, and for ourselves. I want to be closer to the land, I want my children to be closer to the land. So anyways, before I get to far into it I'll let you know what's happening to actually change lives. It started very very small, Just a few containers in a walkway a meter wide and maybe twenty long. Just a little hobby. Then it got interesting. A book appeared on a sale shelf, sixty percent off, Mini Farming; Self Sufficiency on 1/4 acre, by Brett L. Markham. Money dropped, book picked up, no second thought. Self sufficiency on 1/4 acre? That was a dream, and a mighty good one. We're talking 1,000 square metres, that's not big. That'a about three McMansions', that's not including their water hoggin yard space. Now take a loot at the majority of new city developments, Stonebridge in Saskatoon for example. That means that If people were to downsize, A family of three going from 3000 square feet to 600 (For those people that say that's too little it's just a matter of priorities, and yours are screwed up. ) that they could feed themselves almost entirely from a household garden. Now the author goes further, he says that not only could you feed a family of three on this plot but that you would have excess for sale! doesn't that sound fantastic, No grocery bill and beer money! As you may  have guessed this book flopped my Idea of new urban farming on it's head. I said hey lets give 'er a go right in these planters. So I planted intensively, and diversely. I've got peppers and tomatoes in one pot, multiple herbs in another. To top it off I thought I'd push the limits and do two three sisters pots, Which for those of you  who haven't heard of it, and don't feel bad for that, It's corn stocks growing up the center acting as trellises for beans, which are all surrounded by squash, So three space hungry plants in one pot. That all started out great, and it's still going great, constantly expanding actually. The Salad you see up at the top is the first finished product of the containers, mostly. The baby lettuce was grown in containers which consists of multiple strains, the cucumber is from the market, and the dried tomatoes are from a friend.

Kate and Sam as we get just underway

 So after a few weeks of growing in some cute looking containers I started really liking what was happening, I just wasn't going to be happy putting a couple cucumbers of my own and a couple salads on our table. I needed more space. We had a visit from an aunt, the planters were brought up, and the intensive idea and whatnot. She then mentioned that it was a shame she had no time to plant in her dad's garden plot, in her backyard. I jokingly (seceretly not jokingly) mentioned that I thought it would be fun if she let me plant it. She said YES! And so the page turns and expansion happens. We take Sam over so he can look for worms as we proceed to rake all the cover, and double dig two good sized plots.

Sifting out roots

We had to re-dig it as the yard which was a lot of work but it was all well worth it. The plot belonged to Kate's grandparents, both wonderful people with a lot of knowledge. Her grandfather had nursed this soil to being healthier than any other soil I have ever seen. Sam found one worm that was the size of a large marker, thing was a monster, could have taken on Godzilla. There was a large section of the yard that was dedicated as a raspberry patch, it was wonderful, and I wish I could have saved them. 

Nearly done

 Once we had all the work done, the plots dug, we let the land rest. Luckily we had a large rain that night, hasn't really stopped raining since then actually. The next day some transplants went in, mostly tomatoes, a tomatillo, some alpine strawberries, a couple tobacco plants and one mystery plant. The majority of the tomatoes are greenhouse orphans, bound for the landfill because they up-rooted. Poor guys, They're doing just fine now. The one mystery plant was with them, I have no idea what it is, but I guess time will tell.
In the remainder of the plots I put a lot of stuff, so If I  have some that fails I won't be suprised. I have next to the tomatoes, four different lettuces; A romaine, great lakes, iceberg, and a red leafed romaine. I have next to them a row of swiss chard. On their side I have a patch of carrots, a small heritage that should produce chunky round carrots much like large raddishes. Next to them is where it gets tight. I went for  more of the three sisters, two different ways. I have a sweet corn planted with pinto beans and speghetti squash. Four mounds of them. Beside them I have four mounds that are a baby sweet corn, the type you get in a nice Thai curry, mouths watering already.
The same beans, but with pumpkins, Sams' Jack-O-Lanterns. And A few sunflowers at the very end, also Sams'. Plot two holds the strawberries and tobacco. The rest of it is our meager potato/onion patch. I Honestly don't know what to expect. Everything here was planted later than everyone else had planted. Though not by more than two weeks. I really hope we can get a good turn out of this.  Updates will come along with the progress. As this is not just about food and about a new old way of life expect to see some recipes, book reviews, and other various articles.
Just a reminder from the good man Joel Salatin

 “The stronger a culture, the less it fears the radical fringe. The more paranoid and precarious a culture, the less tolerance it offers.”