Tangled Garden II

I recently received my order from Sustainable Seed Co. and am anxious, all of us, the entire family, to get these seeds in the earth! My daughter's boyfriend is determined to turn our backyard into a cornucopia of edible delights, and I'm going to let him. This young man hasn't spent even a minute on a real farm, but he's got a knack for planning, planting and growing, so much so, he's considering working his way into Fresno State's world-renowned Agriculture Department as a green conscious farmer. He receives a deep sense of satisfaction being self-reliant, and growing his own food to eat or barter for goods is something he sees in his future. It starts in my backyard, I guess.

In a few weeks, maybe by mid-February, we'll be laying down the spring greens bed with Paris Island lettuce, a hardy romaine-like variety; leafy green lettuce; cucumbers and a few delicate herbs, the winter thyme, German and Roman chamomile, chives, basil and red clover. Then in April we'll lay down the early summer beds and fill them with purple carrots, cabbage, chard and kale. Then on to the mid to late summer beds and load them up with corn, potatoes and more varieties of tomatoes than you can shake a stake at - red pear, Cuostralee, Auld Sod, Black Seaman, Columbian Wildform, Earl of Edgecomb (an orange tomato, my absolute favorite), Ben's Ivory Pear, and some tiny yellow grape tomatoes transplanted from mum's garden. Somewhere in all of that I have to find space for onions, a mimosa tree my mom's started, and a yard full of lavender.

Some of these goods, the tomatoes in particular, and some of the herbs, will make their way into skin care at The Scented Djinn Etsy Apothecary. The rest will be happily eaten, preserved or traded.