I was born to play in the dirt

 It is official. We have a garden. Small, yes. Awesome? Yes!

Gettin' down and dirty

After much deliberation concerning the potential site for the garden, we finally settled on a small rectangular plot against our wooden fence in the backyard. We haven't measured it precisely but I will say it is about a foot and a half wide, and ten feet long. It is contained within a wooden frame, about a foot high and filled with soil and compost. The compost was a gift from my dear friend, who has been making it in her backyard for the past year or so. It was a birthday gift, actually, accompanied by a three-foot-long planter filled with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Paul Simon would be awfully proud.

Once the frame was constructed by my husband and his father, my husband and I put it into place on the land where his father had torn up the grass. Then we filled it with organic soil and the compost and mixed it to as close to homogeneity as possible. This part was actually quite magical. My expectations for the feelings that this garden would elicit had to do with some satisfaction for being "green" and somewhat self-sustaining. But so far the most overwhelming feeling I have experienced has been unity with the Earth. As corny and hippie-like as that may sound, it is the truth. Maybe deep down I am a tree-hugging corn-ball.

Roots of our starter chives...cool, right? I thought so.

Regardless, I want to tell you what it felt like being down on my knees working the soil with my hands. It was slightly reminiscent of my childhood. I would think most people can relate...who didn't play with dirt as a kid? Well I personally don't know why I ever stopped. It is incredible. Getting dirt in every crevice of my fingerprints, under and around my once-manicured nails; struggling to itch my nose with the cleanest part of my arm but failing inevitably; being suddenly aware of each breeze, as though they were made just for me. More than anything, the predominate sensation was one of being distinctly human. Purposeful gardening; deciding what we want to eat and planting seeds in the soil to cultivate and harvest. Doesn't that set us apart from the monkeys?

First plant going in! Basil! Can't wait to make pesto :)

To be fair, we haven't actually planted any seeds yet. But we will! Right now, on the plot we have the Scarborough Fair herbs, along with cilantro (I love guacamole), basil, oregano and chives. Also, my father-in-law's cherry tomato plant that has outgrown its small pot, a smaller cherry tomato plant and two bell pepper plants, red and orange. Besides the gifted herbs and the larger tomato plant, everything else is very small and young. So much so that when it was raining hard yesterday I literally feared for their lives. How very motherly of me, right? They survived though, as so many plants have done...

 

Now that we have accomplished this small goal of a small garden, we are planning a larger one next to it. We've bought seeds for more vegetables to put there and I can't wait to get started.

My baby with the baby chives, oregano, basil

 

 P.S. A bit of advice. You don't need to know everything (or much of anything) about gardening to get started. Our first trip to Home Depot almost ended with the conclusion that we would simply have a potted garden because we felt so clueless about starting an in-ground garden. “First we need a pH kit for the soil!” “Do we have a shovel?” “Should we take measurements first?” “Wait, let's just buy soil for now” “Oh nevermind we don't need a pH test kit until we have the soil down!” We didn't test our soil. We didn't take measurements. We were creative and did what worked for us and our space. Once you take the first step you can go from there. In our experience so far, your garden does not need to be planned in detail in order to begin. Just do it!

 

Photo credits to Liza Shurik :)