This is our second year with Build It Up. Our teenage son has really grown in his knowledge and application of skills. It is a joy to watch him garden and to know that he will have the skills he needs to move towards the sustainable lifestyle that he desires. This program has allowed us to understand how much we can do with a garden, even though we have a typical sized lot within a subdivision setting. This extra year has allowed us to try the things we thought of after the fact and to apply more of what we have learned. It feels less intimidating now to plan, plant, water, weed, harvest, and preserve the food that we no longer have to buy.
We decided to switch up our garden’s layout this year. It has worked out so much better! We now have a central walking path instead of the perimeter walkway we tried last year. It has helped us with better access to weed and harvest. It feels like we have been able to increase our variety within the same area. Last year, Build It Up introduced us to Grow Bags. We loved the versatility of the bags. This year we have expanded what we grow in the bags. They have been great for onions and for root vegetables now that moles have found the in-ground beds. We were able to build a permanent fence around our garden to help with keeping pets and pests from getting into the garden. Our dogs no longer get free snacks from the garden as long as we remember to close the gate. They aren’t too happy, but we are!
Our family has really enjoyed being able to use the food we preserved last year. We froze much of last year’s harvest as that felt like the easiest way to get started with food preservation. This frozen bounty has allowed us to have healthy meals over the winter and while we wait for this year’s harvest. We have enjoyed kale and root veggies fixed with balsamic, homemade spaghetti sauce made from frozen tomatoes, sweet potatoes whenever we want, and air fried okra. We have also had enough berries this year to really enjoy them. Our variety of foods on our dinner table has increased and we feel like our lives are healthier in general.
~ by Karen Mumpower
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