Practice #16 Grow what you can

Thanksgiving has come and gone and with that can come the question, “what do I do with all this turkey leftover?” For us today, I’m making turkey pot pie. The recipe I make calls for an absurd amount of fresh Thyme. That is one of the herbs I grew this summer and thanks to global warming, it’s still alive outside! Yay for greenhouse gases? So Lucy and I went out and clipped a bunch to use in our pot pie. I was able to cook with free herbs that didn’t come in a plastic case. Wonderful!

This summer, container herbs were all that I grew. Our lives have been in upheaval and it was all I could manage. Last summer, (the picture in the upper right) I grew herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers… Because I was able to. I want you to notice the size of garden I used. That’s all I needed for all of those veggies. You don’t need much space to grow a handful of your favorite produce.

Next summer, I plan to grow more since my hope is that our lives will be much more settled. Until then, I have found a couple of south facing windows that I will be hanging pots in with my replanted herbs since winter is coming. Seasonal living at it’s best in the Midwest.

For those of us with brown thumbs (yes, I am included in this) who struggle with keeping even a cactus alive, maybe start with the one herb you use the most in a small pot and set it in a window that gets a lot of light. Set an alarm for every other day or so to water it. I guarantee you that every time a recipe calls for that herb and you go over to clip some off, you will feel amazing. And it saves you $3 and a plastic container.

My point is, grow whatever you can. Whatever your lifestyle, space, desire can afford. Even just a little bit helps!

P.S. For those of you who have ever had major construction done on their home before, my hat is off to you. You are amazing and deserve a vacation to the Caribbean! Unfortunately, you probably don’t have the money anymore to do it. So instead, let’s just raise a glass for making it through with our sanity somewhat intact.