Garden update

Our garden is growing!

We've had a fair bit of rain in Sydney in the last little while and our little vegies are coming up nicely. It's a pleasure to look at each morning as I leave for work; and even more lovely to potter in when I'm looking for herbs to cook with in the evening.

I'll post some pictures of the produce when it's harvestable.

Getting my hands dirty

I've been thinking about gardening all evening, and I've realised that a large part of what I enjoy about it is really getting my hands (well, actually, all of me) dirty in the process. It makes me feel like I'm really doing something, really getting involved.

Lately I've been in a bit of a writing slump (I'm hesitant to say "writers' block"... that phrase scares me a little). I've been writing, but I haven't been happy with any of it. It's not terrible, I'm just not excited about it.

This afternoon I went to a writers' meeting and was talking to another writer (and friend of mine) there about it. Through our conversation I realised that the other things I do creatively have a huge effect on the quality of my writing.

So my plan is to get my hands dirty more often. Sometimes it might be in the garden, sometimes it might be splashing colour (probably poorly) on a canvas. I might even attempt to do some sewing again. And I'll keep my dirty fingers crossed that my writing will improve.

Our Garden

Yesterday, my housemates and I spent most of the afternoon in our front garden, turning the soil and planting a new crop of warm-season vegetables. By the end of it we were all hot, sweaty and covered in a fine dust-like layer of dirt and cow manure. We probably stank. We were exhausted. We were a little sunburnt. But boy we were proud!

We’re looking forward to a crop of mint, pumpkins, Lebanese cucumbers, snow peas, and butter beans; and we’re hoping that this lot of coriander will take better than the last one.

I love our little garden. And yesterday I realised why people say gardening is good for the soul. It’s hard work – and it’s dirty work! – but there is something incredibly satisfying in planting something and helping it grow. Not to mention that we’re trying really hard to have an organic garden, and we’re using the castings and liquid fertiliser from our worm farm (the worms are all named Barry, in case you’re interested – I have a strangely close relationship with this bunch of slimey things). And you can't help but feel good about yourself if you know you're avoiding using chemicals on your food crops.

In my opinion, watering your own garden in the early evening is perhaps one of the most relaxing things you can do. Yesterday we also bought a mini water tank (100 litres), in which we will put the clean water we catch from the shower while it’s heating up. So yesterday evening, with the aforementioned stink settling into our skin, we stood out in the garden watering and admiring our handiwork. The smiles on our faces couldn't have been bigger.

So, now that I’ve babbled for long enough about how much I love our garden and how hard we’re trying to minimise our negative impact on our surroundings, I’ll get to the point. About once a month I’m going to try to post a picture of some of our produce. Above is a picture of some carrots we harvested yesterday.

I'm amazed that I can help bring something like this to life, and it inspires me to try my hand at other creative pursuits as well. I hope our little garden might help inspire you too.

Watch out for the new monthly project tomorrow.