Today is the third day of my project, but the first day that I am experiencing most aspects of my project. I woke up this morning to the chirping birds and sunny skies that graced us for the first time in a looongg time, and I knew that it was the morning to plant my lettuce seeds. In yesterday's blog post, I wrote that I wanted to use mostly receptacles that I found around my house. I largely followed this principle (I even converted an old clementine box and a brown paper bag into an herb garden!) until I re-checked the "Big Book" and realized that container lettuces need about an 8-inch deep, long container to grow. I didn't have any of these lying around the house, so I ventured off to Simply the Best Fruits (we just call it Simply the Best in my house). They don't sell too much locally grown produce, but they sell a great variety of produce (they are one of the few places that sells fresh fava beans, still in the pod!), dairy, and even some dry goods like pasta at really great prices. Along with a great food market, they also sell planting, gardening, and landscaping tools. I talked to the person manning the gardening section and managed to find a perfect container for my lettuce. It is about 8 inches deep (a little shallower than what the book suggested), five inches wide, and about 15 inches across. A manageable size for me to carry around (I've already spent time this morning chasing "light/partial sun" for the seeds to grow.
That's one of the best benefits of container gardening--it allows for easy transport. For instance, when I started my planting, the weather was really crummy (chilly then humid, rainy then windy, cloudy and gray). So, I planted outside so as to avoid having to clean anything up, then brought them back into my garage where there was a controlled environment...and this time, I'll remember them!
Another note about utilizing resources...this probably isn't the best tip I could give you but it has worked for me. I got by with all my planting with only 1 small bag of soil (probably about 20 lbs.) from Sprain Brook. This includes starting the seeds in the tray, replanting them, and beginning again in new containers. When I started to run low, I snooped around my mom's garden for a little bit and found a giant terra cotta pot with nothing in it except really nice, moist soil she had bought from Ramsey's Farm Stand (another standby in my house that I'll write more about later). Technically, regular flower soil isn't best for vegetable growing. But, I ended up saving money and time and I'm sure that good soil is good soil. We'll see if it works (I'll let you know in 10-21 days).
Even though I'm not planting a full vegetable patch, or even a small one in the ground, I'm realizing just how much work it really takes to put food on our plates. When farmers start, they must till, nourish, and water the soil (not to mention balancing the nutrients), sow the seeds, maintain the plants (and keep them unharmed from erratic/extreme weather and insect plagues), harvest it, and sell it. It's a really intricate process (especially if done on a large scale), but I'm also realizing that there are so many simple ways for people to integrate their own, home-grown foods into their diets. While it takes some time, money, and initial planning, it really is possible to build a manageable, usable, and relatively low-maintenance home garden.
But back to the rest of my day. Today I am going to visit Glynwood Farm which is in Cold Springs. While researching which farms I should visit, I have gotten a lot of great advice from friends, family, and friends of the family. My mom's friend from college told me about Glynwood and it looks like it is going to be a really amazing farm. They have guided hour-and-a-half long tours the second Friday of every month in the growing season. You need to "make a reservation" to be on the tour, and they are not every Friday so it takes a bit of forethought. However, as with most farms, you can virtually always at least stop by, walk around yourself, and check out what they are selling that day. Another great thing about Glynwood, and I'll obviously be able to report back later with more details and photos (and recipes using their produce!!), is that they have a really well organized, artistic website. One of my favorite things on the website is their supply of agricultural maps of different counties in New York State. Take a look at the map of Westchester farms and you'll be able to see just how much is at our fingertips in this county. In terms of its geography, Westchester has coastline, mountains, valleys, rivers, and reservoirs that make for a really diverse and vibrant agricultural industry--everything from milk to kale to bacon to wine is available locally.
