A Wimberley garden in summer glory

Oh, how I have missed gardening! After years of traveling I am ecstatic to be home enough to nourish my very own little piece of earth. Well, truthfully the earth I am nourishing Raven and I drove here from our local organic gardening store, since we live on a limestone ledge that has no soil to speak of. Ryan and Raven built me beautiful limestone rock beds that are filled with a mix of compost and garden soil, just outside our back porch. Miraculously (thanks to a suggestion to leave the dog poo lying around to discourage the deer) the only munchers on the garden are grasshoppers which I now either smush with a prayer or relocated depending on my mood, and Inti who like to garden with me and occasional sample the flowers or tomatillos.

Ah, the abundance! Tomatoes, squash, tomatillos, basil, kale, peppers of three varieties, tons of zinneas, and lots of herbs. I talk to my garden every morning, seeing to its needs. More water, less water, watching for bug infestations or unhappy plants. Mostly the garden has been a splendid show of life bursting. How is it possible for the morning glories to grow two inches a day? Where did that squash come from since yesterday? So far I've been able to stay on top of the tomatoes and squash, but I know soon their proliferance will overtake me and I'll be dreaming up new and interesting ways to get rid of zucchini. 

I'm currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Her family chose to live off the land completely for a year by either growing their own food or getting it from their community. It is an inspirational journey into self-sufficiency and local support. A fact from her book that blew my mind:

If every family in the United states ate just one meal a week that consisted of local, organic produce and meat we would save 1.1 million barrels of oil a week in this country!

And from Seventh Generation comes this little fact: If every household in the United States replaced just one bottle of petroleum-based liquid laundry detergent with a vegetable-based product we could save 460,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 27,000 U.S. homes for a year! Check out their website for products and more amazing facts at http://www.seventhgeneration.com

This summer, support local farmers and consider starting a small garden if you do not already have one. Replace your dishwashing liquid or laundry detergent with a vegetable-based product. Stop using plastic bags at the grocery store; carry reusable bags with you. Small things CAN make a big difference. Thanks!