Katie from Good Life Eats is here as my guest today. She’s sharing a fantastic way to celebrate Earth Day, getting her garden ready to grow!
In my part of the world spring has already sprung. That’s not to say that we haven’t reverted back to winter once or twice, but we’ve been lucky enough to experience some of nature’s wonders already. Seeing everything come to life again makes me especially grateful for all the beauty we experience in this world. In celebration of Earth Day, I thought I’d share some of that beauty with you.
Our family spent the entire summer last year turning our backyard into something other than a giant sandbox. This year we’ve already begun a new adventure – growing some of our own food. I was so inspired by Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and her family’s experience through a year of growing all their own food. It also opened my eyes to paying more attention to eating what is in season. Because when it’s not in season, more often than not it has to travel very far to get to me.
Produce is by far my biggest weekly food expense. I use a lot of tomatoes and fresh herbs. Why not try my hand and growing some myself? I know from my neighbor’s bounty last summer that garden fresh is so delicious. How I fantasize that in just a few months I will (hopefully!) be able to go outside and pick fresh fruit and veggies for my family. How nice it will be to go to the garden for cooking inspiration.
So far it has been a really fun and rewarding project even though we have yet seen the fruits of our labor, so to speak. We first had to clear away what seemed to be at least a ton of rocks, work compost into our nutrient void sandy soil. Our four-year old has had a magical time working in his way – planting seeds, learning names of new vegetables, shopping for plants, watering and dumping or daily collection into our DIY compost bin. We still have some work to do, but we’ve made a lot of progress already. To see green sprouting upwards and taking form as a plant is still so fascinating to a child (and me as well).
Happy Earth Day!
Garden Fresh Panini with Leftover Roasted Chicken
a goodLife {eats} creation
Thanks, Katie. I too love growing a garden, as home grown tomatoes are THE best. And that panini sandwich pictured above looks delish! For more mouth watering recipes, visit Katie at Good Life Eats.
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Tomatoes will need good heat, but if you live in Arizona or a hot climate they get too much heat, but I bet you know that already.
Yummy panini….and the flower pictures are so pretty. I felt I could almost smell them. Happy Earth Day!
I am anxiously awaiting planting my garden this spring. Who can resist something freshly picked from your own backyard. Cucumbers, green beans, squash and more – here I come!!
Katie-What a fun adventure! We started our garden last year and I loved all the tomatos and cucumbers we got from it!! I can’t wait to get things planted this year. We are not quite ready yet here. The end of May is planting time in RI. Those flowers are beautiful!!
Onna
Growing your own garden is so satisfying when you see the fruits of your labor. Maybe next you could get some chickens for that garden, you can see my girls and garden here…http://www.puravidaculture.com/
I love a home garden! The rewards are really too many to count with fresh veggies as only one of them. I love how it helps to teach children; time (how long is a week, about as long as it takes radishes to sprout), the value of work (you actually eat what you worked for), and most of all to enjoy nature! We worked in the garden a bit today as well! What a great way to celebrate Earth Day!
Thank you all so much for your comments! The flowers are Sapphire Blue Flax. Everyone morning they are full of new blossoms. Hope you all have great luck with your gardens!
Cindy – I have the perfect spot for my garden that gets a great combo of full sun and shade through out the day. Last year my neighbor had so many tomatoes that I didn’t buy them the whole summer because he would share. I can’t wait!
Thanks for the yummy picture of panini. I could go for that right now. I, too, am excited to get my garden going. I would love to know what others have done for compost. I am trying to figure out where I could make a nice compost pile.
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