Cultivating With Fun

by Angela
(Zone 9A/B California )

Growing vegetables and farming has been in my family bloodline for centuries. My ancestors immigrated to the United States, and began to till the earth to feed their families and get gain. Previous to their immigration, my ancestors were herdsman, soldiers, seamstresses and butchers. I would like to say that plowing the field is in my blood -- but I'm sure that because there are so many things running through my veins, that I cannot possibly pick one thing to do! Let it suffice to say that I am an avid gardener and reap a wonderful crop to feed my family with each year.

I set a goal a few years ago to grow a new type of vegetable or fruit each year -- even if in a small quantity, just to continue broadening my horizons. One year it was broccoli, another peanuts, one of my more adventuresome years was artichokes, but most recently I decided to grow potatoes. My grandfather was a farmer in the southern states for many years. He taught me many things about gardening and I learned many of my potato growing tricks from him.

One of the first things I learned about potato growing in limited space is that you just have to be imaginative. I took a large red plastic barrel, because oak barrels are more expensive and smaller, and I filled it about 4 inched with dirt. I put my seed potato in the ground and waited for it to grow, once it?s green stalk came up out of the ground I just added more dirt to the pot. I continued to cover the growing plant with dirt until the pot was filled; then I let the plant grow. Upon realizing it as time for harvest I then dug down and started finding many red potatoes! I called over my youngest sister and asked her to start looking for the ?treasures? -- to her joy she found many.

I'd like to say that I am a true farm girl, and that that is what flows so strongly in my veins -- but I?m just a humble city girl cultivating a dream and inspiring one in those around her.