The Urban Homestead

I live in zone 6, so we passed our last freeze date last week. It was amazing to see the change in weather from cool nights to warm; however, it also marked the need for me to get some seeds into the ground quickly.

The excitement and pressure spring me into action each year as I attempt to grow enough food to feed my four children and me. My kids are vegan, so I supplement the cost of buying organic food by growing most of my own, or foraging for wild onions and mushrooms in the spring. As a matter of fact, spring starts with me employing my dehydrator to make wild onion seasoning for soups and stews.

A GOOD growing season produces enough food to eat, process, and last throughout the winter. This includes tomato sauces, jams, dried fruits, spices, relishes, fermented veggies and preserves of all kinds. I am even looking forward to preserving my chicken eggs this year.

My kids do not get sick often, but if they do, I find natural remedies from our ancestors to put them back on track. The old ways worked well, so many of my remedies include medicinal herbs and flowers grown and preserved in alcohol.

There is something marvelous about working in my garden. The perennials that greet me at the onset of spring beckon me to come out of hiding and observe their glory.

I love beautiful flowers too, but growing flowers is not a strong point for me. This year will be different. I want to grow the most amazing flowers for cuttings. I want them to be as marvelous as my herbs and medicinal flowers. The problem is that most perennial flowers require special attention to detail for their specific species. In other words, they all have unique needs. No one size fits all approach. They are the snobs of your garden. Yeah, I said it. They are arrogant, but I must have them because they are worth the royal treatment. If you master their needs, your garden will be the envy of the town.

I am no master gardener, nor will I ever be perfect at it. I just want to be really good. I mean really, really good, and mastering flowers will take me to the next level, so here I go. I am dismissing last year’s flower failures and looking forward to this year’s success. I am confident and hopeful that this will be my best year yet. The Damson plum fruit buds growing on my tree are a good sign that this will be my best year yet. I will keep you posted.