This picture was taken at the old house and was my first attempt at growing a pumpkin patch.
This morning while surfing around and checking all my daily “web stops”, I came across the Urbanhomestead.org. I’ve always been fascinated by the homesteading idea; growing your own food, supplying your own solar power, etc. Living off the land has such a natural appeal, and I’m sure if you’re a tree hugger like me, the thought of growing a garden that supplies the majority of your fruit and veggie needs, has crossed your mind – even if for a brief moment.
The home we lived in before moving away from the “hustle and bustle”, was shaded by huge, grand, old, BEAUTIFUL trees. And while they were gorgeous, and had many benefits (like keeping the house cool in the summer and providing numerous critters with homes), I was always felt held back from having even a small garden because they completely shaded our whole lot. That didn’t stop me from trying to grow pumpkins though! I know, I know.. they need tons of sunlight – but I was determined to try! I grew them from seed and my parents brought over a truck load of good soil to put in the garden boxes in the backyard. And, surprisingly, the pumpkin vines actually did quiet well after I put them in the “garden” outside. The vines started growing, twisting around things, and reaching up towards the patches of sunlight that made it through all the tree branches and leaves. I was so excited! Even if I didn’t get any pumpkins from the vines, I was encouraged that I could at least grow SOMETHING! Unfortunately, my pumpkin growing excitement didn’t last long! One day, when the vines were getting quiet long, I went out to water my “pumpkin patch”, only to see vines in pieces and the leaves chewed off. Some critter was as excited about the pumpkin vines as I was and had them for their midnight snack! I’m guessing they had the leaves for dessert! To this day I don’t know if it was one of my dogs, the squirrels, the skunks, or the raccoon family that lived in one of the trees (they were quiet the clan by the way!).
Now that we live with wide-open spaces, where the stars actually twinkle at night, I’m once again getting the green thumb itch! We have lots of space – including space outside the fenced in area that we call “Batty’s dog park” – to plan, grow, and *fingers crossed* harvest wonderful things! I’m so excited and definitely need to get my nose in some books about how to be a good green thumb! There’s lots of work to be done around the property, and Drew and I are actually looking forward to working outside on all the things that need to be done! Between the list of things to do outside the house, I’ll be making a little garden – or two! I’ll also planning on giving the pumpkin patch idea another go! It’s my dream to have a HUGE pumpkin patch that takes over a good section of land and gives us the best Halloween pumpkins ever! I will no doubt be making sure that work doesn’t get in the way of enjoying our first spring and summer here 
Before I ramble too much more, I wanted to share the video that inspired this post! I came across this video at the Urbanhomestead.org. It’s called the “Homegrown Revolution” and is truly inspiring! Enjoy.
