We live on the second story of a house which has been split into two apartments, and we share the backyard with the neighbors, and this is the view from our kitchen window of the yard. We also share the garden and the picnic table, which you see here being supervised by the neighbor's dog. Why is the garden diamond shaped? I don't know. Why does the neighbor's dog sit on the picnic table all the time? I don't know.
Everything is looking pretty tough right now because we had just enough sun and warmth for the weeds to shoot up, but then the temp dropped again and it started raining so it's been too yucky to go out and put anything besides peas, lettuce and kale in.
My last few years of gardening have been in containers on the porches of apartments, and they have been dismal years. Part of that was heavy rain and not enough sun at the apartment, but I'm kind of worried I have a black thumb. We've also joined a CSA, so we'll be sure to have enough veggies. Joining the CSA was also sort of a protest against the powers that be trying to push me out of Overcast with their draconian funding rules. If things don't go according to plan and we have to move before Fall semester starts, the CSA share will go on after we have to move, but really, planting the garden is just as risky. This is the first summer in three years that both J and I will be in Overcast all summer--we've both had exciting and career-building things which have taken one of us out of Overcast for at least a few weeks at a time the past few summers, but not this year, so I'm bound and determined to plant the garden.
I'm of a mixed mind about canning this year, though. Whether it's August or January, we're moving sometime soon, and a bunch of glass jars won't help that. (Although I guess we really wouldn't be canning if we moved in August). I suppose worst case scenario is that all of our friends end up with a bunch of free home canning, or we'd try to only can a little and make room for some of it, but it seems like a lot of hassle. I'm sort of inclined to do small batches regardless, since J and I have had good luck with small batch pickles, but I'm not sure right now. Really, this funding uncertainty isn't so bad except when you try to plan more than two months ahead.
I like the idea of thinking about certain home-making practices as acts of defiance directed at uncertainty (and those who make it so). I did a lot of small batch canning last summer -- a great way to try out new recipes and possibilities without committing to 3 dozen pints of something... (Also, last summer it was just too hot to do any canning not in the early morning or after dinner.) Can't wait to see more of your garden!
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