Starting over in 2013

  “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” 
― Albert Einstein Over the last couple of years my gardens have been semi successful. As I was traveling on a regular basis and it is hard to find someone who will commit to and actually keep your garden growing when you are out of town, I haven't yielded the crops that I've craved. For several years now I've been dreaming  of being able to sustain myself almost entirely from what I can grow or raise in my back yard. This desire comes from several sources: First, concern about my impact on the planet. The fact that if I grow kale in my yard vs. having it trucked in to me from Georgia there will be less greenhouse gasses building up in our ozone and adding to the Global Weirding* taking place on our planet today. Second, I simply enjoy the flavor of a tomato that has ripened on the vine in my own yard over the lacking, tasteless fruit found in most produce sections around the country. Third would have to be my distaste for over sized agribusiness in the US and overseas, they way they treat people who harvest the food, the harmful chemicals they add to the crops to kill pests and increase yield and the lastly the use of GMO's now spreading across our country. I am not here professing to know everything, far from it in fact. I am here because I have started to smell a rat, and am trying to remove it from my life. I hope that as I post my plans, projects, failures and successes that you will follow along, add your advice as well as being open to learn something new.

 In November of 2012 I made the move back into my little duplex and away from my home of the last three years in Nob Hill with its raised veggie beds, asparagus trenches, apple, pear and artichoke trees.  I find myself starting over from scratch again, but that's nothing new for me. Xandra and I started working on our barren Albuquerque back yard last week when the sun finally came out to let us know that spring was on it's way. So far we have cleaned up most of the trash for the space, started a compost pile for our organic waste, put in a pond to store and filter our grey water (controversial I know but I've read about a few ponds used as grey water storage to be used in the garden being successful so I'm going to give it a try.) Last weekend we added concrete blocks to the yard to build our raised beds and now we are waiting on the delivery of the soil to fill them so that we can get the cold weather plants in as soon as possible.
 
  I am filled with the excitement of spring and all the possibilities that come with the warmth and sunshine of a new season! Happy Planting!!

(* Term taken from Thomas L. Friedman's 'Hot, Flat, and Crowded.')