A Home Garden Doesn't Take Much Space

Yesterday evening, my wife and I planted our beds of bareroot stock for strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. It it part of our gardening hobby that we have playfully given the motto: "Get rid of the lawn!"

The day before yesterday, we harvested our first asparagus from our beds that are now three years old. Earth-to-table travel distance? About 30 feet, and delivered by my feet. Time between harvest and eating?  About 15 minutes, including 7 minutes for steaming. The vegetables? Light, delicate, and tender.

Below is an embedded video of someone who is years ahead of us in actual practice but whose activities we really admire.

From the YouTube information section for this video:

Like Victory Gardens of yesteryear, start your own homegrown revolution, grow your own food in your back or front yard -- for more information visit the urban homesteaders at http://www.PathtoFreedom.com

Or on their online journal at: http://www.urbanhomestead.org/journal

Since the early 80's the Dervaes family has slowly transformed their ordinary city lot into a self sufficient urban homestead. 

I like the disclaimer from one of the Dervaes' websites:

"Warning: Some posts may cause drastic changes in your lawn, excessive seed buying, frenzied bouts of planting and the overwhelming desire for hand-cranked goods. We are not responsible for family and friends possibly labeling you as a 'nut.'"

I'll be presenting a series of articles during this gardening season that show our work, our fun, and our progress in growing food instead of lawn.

Copyright 2011 by Thomas L. Kepler, all rights reserved