The Kitchen Garden in July: Preparing

The Kitchen Garden: July 2021

Pictures of my kitchen garden are helpful to me in spiritual ways. I see such a difference week to week in change, in growth, and it feeds my soul knowing I had a part in this. Yes, there's a lot of work and planning, but the payoff is sweet.

One of my major goals this year was to grow food my family could and would eat, and to put some of it up through canning, dehydrating, or freezing. I believe food security is a real issue facing us. Last year's struggle to source food and basic supplies was a lesson to many of us, and should not be wasted on those who think it's past. The supply chains everywhere are fragile, and each of us should think in terms of what we need or want to be comfortable in our homes. How do we maintain our lives in case of future shortages and scarcity? It wouldn't be the first time in history people have had to ask this question, but perhaps in many of our own short lives. This is what I'm doing.

The Garden: My Other World

Grounded to the Earth

Like so many quilters, I have another life. Quilting elevates me, and sustains a need I have to create with cloth. But the Garden is my alter world. Most days this time of year you'll find me barefoot, grounding myself with the earth. I dabble in everything, but especially heirloom varieties of flowers, vegetables, herbs and edible weeds, and the quest for a righteous compost bin. This spring has been a windfall of salad crops, and diabolical episode of gray mold. It's nothing short of Lord of the Rings out my back door.