We have had a lot of milestones lately. First, yesterday we reached 20,000 hits on this blog for the month. That holds a lot of meaning for me personally, and for everyone who works for Shivaya Naturals. I really enjoy writing about all the moments in our family and business life, and it is pure joy to share them with all of you. Thank you to all of our readers and customers. We simply could not be doing any of this without you.
Another milestone for today is that our seedlings are really popping through. I know, talk about swtiching gears.
I am very hopeful about our garden this year. We spent weeks amending our soil and getting it ready for our plantings. We planted onions, leeks, kale, swiss chard, lettuce, carrots, beets and radishes by seed outside, and then all of our herbs, tomatoes and pumpkins indoors under the grow lights.
This was really the first year that I took every aspect of our garden seriously. For the past 4 years, we have belonged to a local CSA in our community. While I wholeheartedly believe in Community Supported Agriculture, the cost has become out of reach for our family. My goal this year is to truly grow a good portion of our food. While we have grown some veggies and herbs in our raised beds for the past 6 years, this will be the first attempt at growning a major percentage of our family’s produce for the season.
Colorado weather is harsh, there is no other word to describe it. The wind is fierece this time of year, and we can run from hot to cold in a blink of an eye. My first hope is that what we are growing outside right now will make it through this week. I spent a lot of time learning from local farmers in our community, trying to understand the best times and ways of planting cold weather crops, and I am looking forward to catching a glimpse of some healthy growth of those plants.
The seedlings inside are doing well. The sugar pumpkins, chives, sage and genovese basil have sprouted. The thyme, tomatoes, parsley and italian basil have yet to show any life. The kids are just so excited every morning to turn on the grow lights and heat mats and see what has come to life through the past day.
My motto here is not to get discouraged by anything. If we have good growth, great. If not, we will try again. I plan to use about 85% of our pots outside to grow herbs, and then through the summer and fall harvest and dry them for the coming winter. I would also love to grow a good crop of tomatoes, both to enjoy through the season, as well as to put up for winter.
I also have a new obsession; raising chickens and rabbits. See, to put things into perspective, I really live in Suburbia, and I think that perhaps I should have bought a small farm house and plot of land to raise my family on. I love our area, and I feel very blessed for the roof over our heads, but at the same time, I also realize that I want my kids to experience taking care of the earth, truly understanding where their food comes, and being responsible in some way for what they eat. My husband and I spent a lot of time discussing if now was the right time to take on raising chickens, and we decided that we would spend the summer building a fully functional coop, and then wait to begin until next spring. Our town has a lot of resources for rasing chicks, and I think that we also need to spend some real time understanding the best way to take care of the animals. Something to look forward to I suppose.
Tending a garden, growing on our own food, and teaching our children that they are fully capable of living a sustainable life is in the forefront of my mind right now. I know that every day will bring some success, and some failure as well. This is a big learning process for all of us, and we are really looking forward to the rewards that it will bring.
For those of you living in Colorado, the Boulder Farmer’s Market opens in just 10 days (April 4th)! I think that farmer’s markets are one of the true joys of the growing season. Wherever you are, I hope that you have one close by to enjoy and support.
