At the end of every winter I tend to get a little ornery and generally cranky. I usually discover this when I am complaining to Sara about some deficiency in our lives, "How come we haven't been on a vacation by ourselves in almost 10 years...I need to put about $1500 in my car...How come we're always struggling...I wish we had the money to go skiiing," and on and on. At this point Sara usually points out that I always feel this way at this time of year, and that spring will be here soon, and we will be able to get outside and do some of the stuff that is inexpensive but brings us happiness.
One of the things I like most in the warmer months is my little garden. People are always surprised and amused by my interest in plants and the natural world, particularly within the confines of a city. To me its a natural outgrowth of a life spent living in the city, but valuing the natural world and the time my family spent outside. I call this urban ecology. This year I've been reading Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman. This is a great book about how to lengthen the growing season to the point that you can get fresh vegetables out of your garden all year long, even in a climate like New York. My favorite thing about this book is that it uses logical, simple, and inexpensive methods to maximize the amount of fresh vegetables you can grow all year long. With a combination of composting, cold protection, choosing realistic winter crops, and working within existing natural systems I think I can produce fresh vegetables all year long.
In thinking about this, it has occurred to me that there are ramifications across our lives if this becomes a reality. I want to make sure that we have balance. I believe in moderation in all things. If you wanna eat bad, great, but make sure you go play some ball. If If you want to drink a few beers, great, but you probably shouldn't do it everyday. Conversely, if you want to eat healthy, great, do it, but it doesn't make you morally superior, and you should loosen up sometimes. All this to say: We generally eat healthy food, but it will involve doing some things differently. For instance, we will have to figure out how to make use of leeks and endive, vegetables that will grow in the winter, but we have no real tradition of eating or cooking, and figure out how to incorporate them in our daily diet. Another adustment will be the care for the garden, instead of working outside for a few months of the year, it will be a less intense burst but more constant type of work. I think it will be a great thing for the family to do together. I love the fact that my son will pick up a shovel and think of it as a fun time to spend an hour shoveling snow with his dad.
We'll have to see how this goes, adding twins to a family doesn't seem to leave much time for urban agriculture, but I hope that if we set realistic goals it will happen. I'm going to start by re-invigorating my composting system and building a cold frame out of some scrap lumber I have laying around and scavenged old windows.
Who knows when I'll get on the blog again, but hopefully I'll have something to add soon, and if all goes well, next February I won't be complaing about my life. But, to be honest, I don't know if I'll have time to complain a year from now.
-Nick
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