One of my co-conspirators in the gardening universe is Susan Harris, an irrepressible blogger and gardening coach who also happens to be one of the co-authors of that hugely popular gardening blog, Garden Rant.Garden Rant has made an impression in this country as well as across the Atlantic with its irreverent style and wide-ranging coverage of all things green and sometimes blooming. So I was completely flattered when Susan asked me to write about the front yard here on a busy corner in the District of Columbia that my wife and I are turning into an edible landscape.
I don't mind saying that my vegetable gardening and composting would not have occurred were it not for the inspiration of our farmer friends Brett Grohsgal and Christine Bergmark. I was blissfully ignorant of the importance of local farming until I met Brett and Christine. This blog, The Slow Cook, stands at that intersection of the soil in which we plant and the food that sustains us.
Susan's invitation to write for Garden Rant became an opportunity to meditate a little on what it means to be an urban farmer. As I've said before, food doesn't just happen. It takes a lot of work. I salute all farmers who work hard to take care of the earth and ensure that we have food on the table.
Go here to read The Making of an Urban Farmer.
Great article. I'm struggling with wanting to turn my entire urban backyard into a garden and also having room for my greyhound...quite the dilemma. What became of your plants after the birds? I am having the same problem right now. I planted some sugar snap pea plants, and after barely breaking ground, they've all been nibbled. Will they survive? I was so looking forward to fresh sugar snap peas.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Norma Jean. If the birds nipped the leaves off your sugar snap pea seedlings, they are probably gonners. Quick--plant some more.
ReplyDeleteWhat I've done when the birds attack is plant the seeds in trays or peat pots and wait till they much farther along before transplanting them to the garden. But you never know what kind of mood the birds are in. Everything was fine around here until two days ago. Then I looked out in the yard where I'd put some trays of tomato seedlings and noticed several of them had been nipped off.
It's a constant battle.