In our early twenties, my husband and I began subscribing to Mother Earth News magazine while living in a little condo in downtown Denver, CO. While we diligently maintained our balcony container garden and sold our cars to reduce our fossil fuel usage, we dreamed of the day we’d be able to buy our own home, raise chickens and have a garden to grow more veggies than we could eat.
Our dream of buying a home came true when we moved closer to our families in Pennsylvania. This is the fourth year at our home, but the thrill and excitement of knowing that we own a little plot of land is still with us. But by little, I’m talking .24 acres little. No fields and woods for chickens to roam, no barn for our would-be goats and cow. Instead, our house is sandwiched in town, where you can hear the neighbor’s television and see the glow from Wal-mart’s 24 hour shoppers… But in our yard, we’ve created a little piece of heaven. Our grass may not always look manicured, but we have managed to provide all of the vegetables our family of three needs for the year. After the grass fed beef, chicken (plus eggs!) and pork we purchase from local farmers, we have just about everything we need. We are not completely sustainable—I still purchase approximately $50/month of goods from the supermarket—but we’re so much closer to being independent and that makes us happy.
This year, we have grown enough for us to enjoy (plus much more to can and freeze!) the following:
Lettuce (several varieties, including Buttercrunch, Romaine and Looseleaf)
Spinach
Bok Choy (several varieties)
Red Onions
Yellow Onions
Perennial Onions
Garlic
Beets
Turnips
Daikon
Radishes
Kale (several varieties)
Collards
Green Beans
Yellow Beans
Cowpeas
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Tomatoes (over thirty plants, most heirlooms)
Tomatillos
Okra
Peppers (over thirty plants, most heirlooms)
Winter Squash (Several varieties)
Lima Beans
Yard long Beans
Parsley
Basil
Rosemary
Oregano
Marjorem
Thyme
Sage
Peppermint
Spearmint
Lemon Balm
Apples
Rhubarb
Additionally we picked locally eight quarts of strawberries for jam and to freeze. I plan on picking other fruits to supplement our inventory.
The Mother Earth News fair at Seven Springs Resort is coming up in September again and we are once again looking forward to it. Thank you MEN for inspiring our lifestyle!
