The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet mother nature half way.

Michael Pollan

It would be a lie if I said I had no expectations for my garden this year. It would also be extremely naïve to head into the garden season this year and not expect some failures of epic proportions. All things considered, I am still pretty new to gardening, and this is a brand new homestead. There is a place where the former owners had a garden, but it’s been years since it has seen any kind of nurturing and the weed pressure is 100%. I will have challenges, that is for sure. Because I am aware there will likely be tears this year, I have sat down and wrote out some goals for our gardening adventure during our first year. Goals that I hope will be attainable, and goals that I hope will keep me anchored in my “why”. I’m putting them in writing so that I can hopefully inspire you, as well as look back on this at the end of the season as a learning and growing time in my life.

Feed My Family

First and foremost, I want to produce enough yummy veggies to keep my family eating fresh all summer, without having to go to the grocery store. This is a big goal all in itself, however I am also aiming at preserving enough of our fresh produce to last up to a year! I have a list of things I would like to can, and it includes spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, BBQ sauce, salsa, and a bunch more.

Provide For My Community

Feeding my own family is a goal that I feel is reachable, but taking it one step further, I would love to be able to provide farm fresh produce for our community. We live in a rural town and getting to the larger farmer’s markets can be hard for a lot of folks here. I have big dreams of having a little farm stand in front of our place that I can stock daily with fresh produce and eggs for our neighbors to purchase close to home, at a fraction of the price.

Of course, my extended family is on my list as well. My grandma even requested that I grow her acorn squash this year. I’ve never eaten it, nor have I grown it, but you best believe that I have a tray pack of seeds in the soil in the greenhouse as we speak.

Re-connect With Nature

I have always been an outside person. I am happier and calmer when I am outdoors, and even more so when I am busy outdoors with my hands working away. There is just something about getting your fingers dirty and nurturing those little seeds into mighty food producing machines that lightens my heart. I am also finding that there are some plants that I can grow with ease and bring back from a near death experience, while others I have never been successful with. I want to conquer those unsuccessful varieties and really work on my green thumb.

Restore Beauty

If you have been following along with our move and the journey of this property, you know that right now it is ugly. I don’t say that in a “please shower me with compliments” type of way- it is truly ugly. The house is old and has been neglected, and the outside matches it. We have remodeled the inside, and now we move outside…

I have recently started referring to our home as the forgotten homestead. It is so clear to me that at some point someone loved this property. It is evident in the fruit trees scattered across the almost 6 acres, the edible landscaping that is everywhere, the greenhouse, and the blueberries that line the driveway as you pull in. It is also very clear that for one reason or another it has been many, many years since it has been shown love. It reminds me of the old hot rod car that is found in a falling down barn covered in debris and dirt. At some time, it was loved and beautiful. I am making it my summer mission to bring it back. I have already been hard at work pruning fruit trees and fertilizing them with organic fruit tree fertilizer, as well as shaping and trimming berry bushes and existing landscaping. Once my garden is in it will really be the focal point of our backyard, and it is going to shine I just know it!

Learning

In every failure there is a lesson, and I am sure there will be many failures with my garden, but I intend to take them all in stride (you can laugh now if you know me personally) and file them away as a learning opportunity. There are so many things to consider when gardening like soil makeup, sun exposure, moisture retention, and so on. I knew these things at our last place, but here I am going with where the previous owners had their garden and hoping theirs was successful. The rest I will have to figure out as I go.

I have also started a TON of seeds this spring and I want to know- was it too much? Do I have zucchini coming out of my ears with more than I can possibly use, preserve, or sell to my local community? Did I start too little and leave myself short when canning season rolls around? These are things I will be taking notes on as the season progresses so that next season I can be so much more prepared.

So there you have it- my garden goals for 2023… in writing… no going back now! I can’t wait to follow up on this after my first garden season here. I want to share with you what worked and what didn’t, and set out to plan for the next season. I hope you’ll tag along with me!

~Tara