My awesome company Hammock Inc. mentioned my blog on its website. This triggered a lot of questions; therefore, I will attempt to answer some of the main questions now that I have had time to think about some of them.
1. Is your garden about five acres?
Uh, no. A rough estimate is it is about 5,000 square feet. I don't know how to translate that into acres. AND of that 5,000 square feet, I personally cultivate about 1,200 square feet...details on that to follow.
2. Have I always had a large garden?
Me personally, no. Last year was my first year to have a "non-back yard" garden. My grandfather; however, has always had a garden. He passed away three years ago and since then my folks and I have started carrying on the tradition of gardening.
3. How do your parents fit into this gardening situation?
After my precious grandfather passed away, my parents moved into his house with my grandmother. That story is a long, but it makes perfect sense. Once they moved into my grandfather's place, Husband and I bought their twelve acres from them. Our properties border each other. And all these properties were once owned by my grandfather and coincidentally is where my childhood home is. The garden area is technically their property, but when you deal with mom's and dad's it's all fair game and they are more than delighted to share the garden space.
4. How do I preserve my plants once harvested?
I learned to can tomatoes from my grandmother, but I haven't practiced that. My Granny and my mother can or freeze or make jam out of everything. I like to be cool at my office and church and share the produce....but if you know how much was canned and eaten fresh, you'd realize there was nothing to do but give it away; thus the appearance of coolness!!! BUT if I get peppers, I will probably freeze them or pickle them. I am also interested in preserving my sugar pumpkins for muffins and pies this year, so that will be something new I learn. If I was up to all the work of picking, breaking and canning green beans, I so totally would, because they are delicious....Frankly, we're still eating 2004 beans.
5. What is your favorite thing to grow?
Last year I had a blast with pumpkins. This year, I went WAY overboard with them. I hope they are as much fun this year as last. We'll see. I am excited about my strawberries and I am experimenting with Peppers....that is the fun part. I like playing around and seeing what happens.
6. What pests eat our garden?
Primarily deer. My grandfather tried everything he could but to no avail. We've got a large dog we hope will scare away the deer this year, but that, too, may be wishful thinking. This past year they particularly enjoyed the green beans, squash and cucumbers.
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