The Cook's Garden

It's been awhile since I've written here. Not that I haven't been cooking - I've been cooking a fair amount, but nothing worth sharing recently. Also, the majority of my planning energy has been focused on the garden. I finally got to pick out my little piece of ground last weekend. They gave me a sheet of graph paper...I'm thinking I'll need about six more sheets before I get the layout that I want. Definitely included in the garden: radishes, beets, carrots, peas, tomatos, nasturtiums (they are flowers w/ edible blooms and leaves, and they repel insects; these are a must for the organic garden). Possibles (I can't include them all, I don't think): eggplants, sweet peppers, cucumbers. I'll plant lettuces/greens as well, but since I do have some room at home and they did so well in boxes last year, I think I'll go with containers again this year too. It will be more convenient, when making a salad, to have the greens right outside the door.

I have, at least, worked out a schedule for planting. The garden will not be ready until early April, so that's when I'll start with the radishes. And maybe some salad greens close to home. I found out last Saturday that the garden's got SPRINKLERS, and they'll water twice a day. Oh my gosh. The actual gardening part of this might be easier than I thought. No need to water every single day. It feels like cheating, but I'm not complaining much.

One added challenge in planning is that I'm trying to plant companion herbs along with the vegetables as much as possible. For instance, carrots go with chives; basil goes with tomatos; etc. Apparently these herbs not only repel pests, but can make the vegetables grow better and tastier. Additionally, there are plants that DON'T like each other (such as cucumbers and sage). What's particularly interesting about these companion plants is that a lot of times, the companion herb is one you would actually use in cooking/eating the vegetable (esp. tomatos and basil). I don't know how this developed (and some resources seem contradictory), but it's kind of cool. Though a real PITA when it comes to planning.