Just a few short years ago, I was proud of myself if I could grow my own basil without it wilting. Eventually, though, I started to feel embarrassed that it was the only thing I was growing. So, I branched out. Last year, our "crops" included tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, rosemary, oregano, mint, Italian parsley...and the trusty basil. I like to grow the things we eat the most, partly because I can't stand buying produce in those little plastic clamshell containers. (Even if they're recycled, they still create a lot of pollution in the manufacturing and recycling processes.) Plus, I can't always find organic produce, so I'd rather grow our own and know that it hasn't been sprayed to the brink of death with pesticides. Last but not least, it's a great lesson for little ones to learn that food doesn't grow in the supermarket. (Added bonus: They seem more likely to eat it if they grow it!)
Even with the occasional snow flurries lately, I can still feel spring on the way, which makes me excited to start growing our own fruits and veggies again. Naturally, I'm all for growing things seasonally and locally, but sometimes, I like to try growing things that don't usually grow in the northeastern U.S. Citrus trees fall into that category, and last spring, I bought three. Meyer lemon (pictured above), seedless lime, and mandarin orange. By late spring, we should have some of our first Meyer lemons ripening. Not enough to make lemonade every day, but enough to spritz on fish or slice for salads, I think. Since the citrus trees I bought are dwarf varieties, it was (relatively) easy to drag them into the house at the first sign of frost. I can't wait to drag them back out onto the deck once spring is here to stay.
Your turn: What did you grow last year? Successes? Failures? What's on your planting agenda this year?
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I've got a lot of room for improvement in this area! I've just spent the past several weeks plotting how much sunlight is cast in several parts of our front & back yards (yes, I'm that much of a beginner). This year, I will plant tomatoes & possibly cucumbers - as well as sunflowers. It's gonna be a busy month!
Posted by: Debi | 03/05/2013 at 07:53 PM
I am actually trying to grow a citrus tree in my Manhattan office...I think I might be a couple of decades away from serving up lemonade but I nevertheless find it soothing to care for the thing...Isn't being green about baby steps?:-)
Posted by: Stephanie | 03/06/2013 at 08:25 AM
I love to garden! But we have a very tiny, very shaded yard. There are really only two spots to put anything and I use both spots for pumpkins. We just had a discussion the other day about how maybe I should grow tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers, but I can't give up one of my pumpkin patches!!! I'm a bit obsessed...
Posted by: Janna | 03/06/2013 at 08:30 AM
Good luck with it, Debi! Sunflowers sound lovely...and very French!
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 03/06/2013 at 01:11 PM
Yes, that's the spirit, Stephanie!
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 03/06/2013 at 01:13 PM
Janna, do you bake pies with them? I'm sure Halloween is a lot of fun!
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 03/06/2013 at 01:14 PM
I make EVERYTHING with my pumpkins - pies, bread, muffins, pancakes, smoothies, soup, beans & rice stuffed pumpkins for dinner, pumpkin lattes...
Oh & I put pumpkins in my planter pots & on the front porch for decoration. My kids & I paint polka dots & stripes on the pumpkins and of course, carve some of them!
But maybe I'll put tomatoes & lettuce in pots this year, so I can move them around so they'll get enough sun. Also, I've always wanted to grow a hibiscus tree. My sister has two gorgeous ones in Georgia, but they don't really grow here in Oregon. Maybe I'll try it this summer with a small plant & bring it inside when it freezes. Your lemon is darling!
Posted by: Janna | 03/06/2013 at 01:47 PM
That's an impressive amount of pumpkin recipes! My mother-in-law makes a pumpkin flan every year for one of the Thanksgiving desserts and it is AMAZING.
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 03/06/2013 at 02:31 PM
One summer when I was 12 or 13, I grew popcorn in the back yard. I ripped up patch of sod making a rectangle that was about 5 feet by 10 feet -- that is 50 square feet. Made a 3 by 4 array of 12 small mounds, planted 5 seeds in each. When the young stalks poked about an inch through the soil, I removed the smallest 3 in each mound as the instructions said. Then there was fighting the bugs etc. At the end of the summer, I harvested the ears, and scraped the kernels off into a jar. It was about a half a cup. I put them in a skillet and popped them, and we ate it all in 1 night. 50 square feet of yard just for that! I learned why people do not usually grow any kind of corn in a vegetable garden.
Posted by: Alex C Jones | 03/06/2013 at 07:39 PM
That's so funny, Alex! Lesson learned indeed. And yeah, "fighting the bugs" is my least favorite part of growing any foods.
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 03/06/2013 at 08:32 PM