Happy 2024 and of course, Go Blue!
I rang out the old year by taking time off and felt well enough to train the dogs, watch many hours of college and NFL football, and get a lot of cross-stitching done.
Happily, I can report that I am well on my way to having an entry for the 2024 Chelsea Community Fair.
That said, I’m ringing in the new year by trying something new — growing vegetables from seeds.
After all the news reports of tainted and recalled fruits and vegetables the last couple of years, I decided to try my hand at not only planting a flower garden to attract hummingbirds and pollinators, but also attempting to grow my own “food.”
This experiment has led to five, count them FIVE, enlargements and reconfigurations of my little front yard garden plot. And, since the deer and rabbits were enjoying the fruits of my labors, these garden enlargements have included many feet of additional fencing and netting at the bottom along the way.
Late this fall, yards and yards of mulch were added so I can stop wasting precious time weed eating and spend more time tending to “my crops.” A big thank you goes out to Richard Eyster who did all the heavy pounding on all the fencing and wire stringing as well as to Bollinger’s Sanitation for the mulch.
Last year, I semi-successfully grew carrots, beets, potatoes, one (very annoying) Brussel sprout plant, melon, strawberries, numerous herbs, lettuce, cucumbers, peas, beans, cherry tomatoes and some other assorted fruits and vegetables.
There were some failures … blueberries. With visions of pounds of those yummy blue berries dancing in my head (according to their little tags, at least), I was lucky to get a handful. Since it was just their first year, I am hopeful that 2024 will be more “fruitful”.
In the past, many of these fruits and vegetables were purchased as starts from local farmers and at the farmers market, but for 2024 I have decided to try growing my produce from seed. I purchased numerous varieties of seeds and have already planted some cold-weather crops. They are under grow lights with heating pads under them and are living in my repurposed three-season porch. (See photo at the end of the story.)
Currently, a corner of my living room is filled with gerbera daises that I bought from Kermit’s Pad and brought inside. I am hoping to keep them alive until they can go back outside in their hanging baskets when it’s much warmer.
I’ll keep you updated throughout the winter on the progress of my newest experiment.
As we begin a new year, I wish for you good health and happiness and a nudge to try something new in 2024.
I’d also like to thank the following people who recently made non tax-deductible donations to Chelsea Update. If you would like to support Chelsea Update, please send a check made out to Chelsea Update and send it to 18829 Bush Road, Chelsea, MI 48118 or donate through paypal on the home page of the website.
- John Deikis
- Judy Oake
- Susan Lackey and Steve Daut
- Donna Dotson
- Paul Schissler
- Margaret and Gordon Schleicher
- Christine Frayer
