In addition to the Salem Farmer's Market being up and running every Thursday from 3pm to 7pm (just a mile walk from our house), our own garden has begun to produce harvest worthy items.
Okay, admittedly, our tomato plants are looking pretty pathetic. We started them very early and they became tall and leggy as they waited in our not quite south facing window for the evening temperatures to climb up to above 50ยบ F. When we were finally able to get them in the ground... they were flopping over and generally looking sickly. Then the wild rabbits found them, and though tomato plants are supposedly toxic to eat, the rabbits appear to be immune. So, we may have to replant some new tomatoes.On the other side of the spectrum, our spinach, arugula, and swiss chard plants are growing so fast that we almost can't keep up with them. I'm dining every evening on tasty salad mixes with slices of our radishes mixed in. Our herb garden is now three years old, and we've got an over abundance of sage, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, chives, garlic, tarragon, lavender, and rosemary. Our dinners-no matter what we're eating-are always seasoned with fresh picked herbs and life has gotten quite delicious.
I can't wait for the peas, beans, zucchini, carrots, beets, cucumbers, (hopefully) tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, acorn squash, buttercup squash, lakota squash, and sugar pumpkins to produce :)In addition to what we've got growing in the garden, our red and black raspberry plants are about to bloom, our strawberries have finished flowering and are setting tiny green fruits, our lonely blueberry bush survived the winter, and the two peach trees we put in the ground at the beginning of April survived and have leafed out. They won't fruit for a few years, but when they do... OMG, there is nothing finer that a ripe peach plucked right off the tree.
Why are we homesteading at the Karch house? To sum it up, we care about our physical and mental health and we care about our environment. Home grown food is a known quantity. We know where it's coming from, how it's being grown, and what chemicals are or aren't being used on it. And we know how much fossil fuels are being used to grow it, water it, fertilize it, package and process it, transport it, and keep it cool until it gets to our plate. We could buy a share at a local CSA like Green Meadow Farm or Appleton Farm, but I and my husband feel that it's important for our children to see food growing and be involved in the process of getting it from seed to the dinner plate.
