Life's Miracles

I've been working aggressively on my garden.  It never ceases to amaze me the absolute miracle of planting a seed and a plant appearing a week or so later.  Some days I sit and stare at my beautiful little plant starts, I call them "my babies", and marvel at the miracle of it all.  I feel so blessed and grateful to the Lord for the abundance of good food that has been given to us.  I don't know what it is about gardening that is so refreshing.  It's hard work, back-breaking at times but so rewarding.  I love being in the sun.  Our church has encouraged us to plant gardens because it's more economical.  And for those of us that buy organic, it is definitely more economical.  Fresh vegetables and fruit right outside your back door.  I LOVE IT.   For those of you who don't have a backyard to plant a bunch of vegetables you can still enjoy fresh greens.  Buy a large planter, fill it with some potting soil and plant some Kale, Chard and Collard greens.  They are easy to grow and the leaves look beautiful. They aren't picky about their atmosphere and they are some of the highest nutrition foods available to us.  I also put them in my flower garden to add some green. 






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Garden time

It's garden time.  Would the weather please cooperate!!!! I'm so excited.  I'm using every possible space for my garden this year.  If you haven't started your plant starts yet, now's the time to do it.  It's super easy and much less expensive.  I bought the little greenhouse from Walmart (i think it costs $7).  Then I planted peppers (red, yellow, green, and jalapeno), celery, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, leeks, and onions.  These plants need a longer season than Utah offers so its best to get a head start on these.  You'll be able to transplant them easily.  If you haven't already gotten your peas, beets, carrots, chard, and lettuce in the ground you can do those plants anytime.  They are fine with the cold weather and even the snow.  Beet greens offer a lot of nutrients and are a great addition to your green drinks so be sure to plant beets that you can use just for beet greens. They are high in Magnesium which most Americans are extremely deficient in.  Chard is also a good one for your green drinks.  Chard grows under extreme circumstances. For example, I planted a row of swiss chard last august and kept it covered all winter.  My plants are now thriving and will be ready to use very soon.  Who would have thought??  Kale also grows thru the winter.  I have 2 kale plants that I kept covered that are growing very well now.  Between Kale and Chard you get 10 of the 12 essential vitamins.  They are an essential part of the green drinks.  I planted a variety of kale and chard.  There are several types. This will help you rotate the greens you use.  If you have any questions about gardening, I'd be happy to help.  I'm also willing to help get you started and come over with a shovel and my gloves.  For those of you who don't think its worth it, just try it.  There is nothing better than going out to my garden and picking fresh vegetables and herbs.  Green drinks taste way better to me.  The plants are fresh and have more enzymes and nutrients.  Kale and Chard can be grown in planters as well so there's no excuse.  Get to it:)

Grow your own GREENS

It's coming up to my favorite time of year when I get to garden. Last year I grew whatever I could but my absolutely favorite things to have in my garden were Kale, Chard, Collard Greens and Beet Greens. I loved being able to go outside and cut the fresh leaves for the Hulk Juice. I had a flower garden in the front yard of my house. I decided that instead of planting just flowers I'd mix it up and do all of the greens as well. It ended up being a beautiful garden because I did the Kale and Chard plants in circles around the flowers and then the beets around the chard. The plants flourished. I was a beginning gardener and all of the plants worked perfectly. I was sad because 1/2 way thru the summer last year I had to move. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving the plants so I decided that I'd just take my plants with me from the garden. My husband thought I was insane and pretty much everyone I talked to said it just wouldn't work out.  I ended up transplanting all of the greens and to my shock every single plant flourished again after making the move.

(my garden in front of my house.  Isn't it pretty? And edible)

The point is... It's easy to grow your own greens. You don't need a great big garden or even a green thumb. Instead of doing all flowers this year, grow some greens with it.