Veggie Minded

“This is the emerald season of spinach, kale, endive, and baby lettuces. The chard comes up as red and orange as last fall’s leaves went out. We lumber out of hibernation and stuff our mouths with leaves, like deer or tree sloths”

“That’s how springtime found us, grinning from ear to ear, hauling out our seedlings”

- Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Spring in the Pacific Northwest has been a little slow this year… At least it seems that way… I realize this might not actually be true, since it has rained on Memorial Day weekend pretty much consistently since I’ve lived here, but for some reason this year the cold dreariness has seemed to linger longer than usual. I’m actually rather ok with that though, because it has allowed me some extra time to come up with a game plan for my planting endeavors.

I should probably start out by saying that I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and though I have always had a love for gardening and local produce, it is probably safe to say that reading this book has pushed me over the edge into gardening fanaticism… well as fanatical as one can get while living in an apartment with no real land to call my own.  For the past two summers the only real gardening space I had consisted of two window boxes. Considering that I lived in the world’s smallest apartment I was actually pretty happy with that, and was able to grow some of the basics. I had basil, rosemary, sage, chives, dill, one giant container of mint, some thyme, and one box of flowers. Pretty good, right?  Plus, the weekly farmer’s market was literally right outside my front door, and the organic grocery store was half a block away, so I was able to supplement my boxes with tons of fresh, local produce.

Then this past summer we put in a small garden at work, and having no idea what to really do with the produce (most of the employees already had large gardens) I was able to take home tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini throughout most of the growing season, which was pretty great. All of the benefits, with none of the real labor.  And though I have no problem slapping down a few bucks for a head of lettuce at the farmer’s market, I do have to admit that there is nothing more satisfying than making a meal out of something that you have grown yourself (even if it is just sprinkling fresh basil over pasta. )

So this past February when I was looking for a new apartment, I was drawn towards this place because of the incredible porch. It is expansive, and though it slants a little bit, and is made of tin (weird right?) I could definitely see the potential for container gardening (not to mention all the stellar summer evening soirees I plan on throwing). And so I began to dream past the two window boxes. At first I thought I would just grow some lettuce, and expand my herb selection a little bit. Nothing too crazy…

That was February… this is May. And though I think I have done a fairly good job controlling my vegetable planting impulses, I definitely have expanded my container gardening horizons…  Though I will partially blame that on Barbara Kingsolver… The way she writes about food is breathtaking. I was hooked after the chapter on asparagus, worked my way through spring, and by the time I got to August I had to actually restrain myself from buying six different kinds of tomato plants.

I constantly struggle with finding a balance between my urban desires and my suburbanish lifestyle. I love so many conveniences of the city, but lately I’ve really been embracing the simplicity of a more rural life-style, and I have to admit, the idea of living on a farm for a year and growing a massive vegetable garden is greatly appealing to me. Sure, cleaning chicken poop off of eggs, and slaughtering my own meat sounds less than glamorous, but a season of fresh produce everyday is something I could get behind. Growing up, my family always had a large garden, and I grew up with the flavors of home-grown vs. grocery bought. I love how garden-fresh carrots taste like dirt in an incredibly delicious way.

Since I do not have any land to call my own, and I cannot really dictate what goes into the workplace garden, I have spent the past few months trying to make creative suggestions to my parents about what they should plant in their garden. I had to laugh when I was reading about Barbara Kingsolver being listed in a book as the “74^th most dangerous person in America”. I think my mother might agree with her though, because just about every day as I got through another chapter I would start suggesting a new vegetable. “Mom, what about fingerling potatoes… and onions? Lets grow tomatillos. Do you still have a food dehydrator? How would you feel about raising a few chickens?” She stopped listening after I started to suggest that they turn part of their lawn into a raised bed. She insisted that someday her grandchildren would need to play on the lawn… I tried to argue that that my future bulldog AKA the only grandchild in the foreseeable future wouldn’t need very much lawn to play on, but that didn’t go over too well.  I can’t really complain though. My parents did buy a fig tree (at my suggestion) and a kiwi vine (without my suggestion!) and they just signed up for a CSA, which I will gladly pick up for them when they are on vacation.  Though I don’t think I will be able to convince my mom to start canning things with me in the fall, or to grow enough onions so we have a supply all winter, at least she will share the figs.

Of course the real fuel to my gardening flame is mostly due to the fact that I work at a specialty plant and herb nursery. My co-workers are all extensive gardeners, some of them with their own farms and CSAs and my boss is a Master-Gardener. Being around these people for over two years I am inspired by the way that they eat, and I will admit in the summer I am always jealous of their lunch.  After being around these people, and in a place that is all about growing and nurturing, it should be of no surprise to me that the second I got a porch I marched out to the green-house and started spending my latest pay check. It started with a planter full of lettuce… lettuce is the gateway vegetable.

And the thing of it is, I don’t feel any guilt whatsoever  spending money on plants. Sure, most of them come from my place of work, so I get a great discount. But even so, I can justify spending $3 on a basil plant that will last all summer, when I often spend $3 for roughly six leaves of basil in a package from the store. Plants are basically the gift that keep on giving.  I love that I can buy a tomato plant for $1.50 and it will get me through more than one salad… so with that logic, what was once a few simple plants, has turned into a porch full of glory.  I still have the basic herbs… rosemary, dill, basil, chives, sage… I also have three different varieties of thyme, red veined sorrel, cilantro, French tarragon, lemon verbena. Yes I have the essential spearmint…. I also have apple mint, mint julep, peppermint, and chocolate mint. I have a stir-fry garden with kale, spinach, swiss chard and bok choy.  I have my lettuce pot with red leaf and mustard greens, and a wine barrel with snow peas, Romano beans, and multi-colored carrots. And even though it took great restraint, I only let myself buy two tomato plants. (I had every intention to buy only one, but who can choose between the delicious little yellow ones, and the green zebra striped ones? ) In the next few weeks I fully intend on bringing home a few more varieties of basil, a cucumber plant ( I have a sneaking suspicion the tin porch will be the ideal growing climate for the heat loving cucumber) , and a pineapple sage. (Seriously, if you don’t know about pineapple sage, you are missing out) 

 The Row of Mint

My Little corner of edibles

The Tomatoes in their walls of water

Beans, and Carrots and Peas, Oh My!

A little excessive for just one person? Maybe. But think of the salads! Think of the stir-fries! Think of the beans drizzled in olive oil! Think of the cooking adventures, and the summer soirees! At the very least think of the copious amount of mojitos! (I know, I know…five different types of mint might be a little extreme… but if I had my way it would already be growing waist high in some obscure corner of the yard… )  I might not be ready for my own farm quite yet, but I’m damn excited for the summer and my small harvest of vegetables.