I have caught a bug! Nothing serious, just the gardening bug.
I haven’t had it for the last couple of years. I took 2012 off when I was in Africa and last year I was busy adding a sunroom on the house. No excuses, 2014 is the year.
I have eight beautiful raised beds just waiting to be planted. The ninth raised bed is knee high with rhubarb and raspberries already. Growing up no one I knew had raised garden beds but they make a whole lot of sense to me. They keep the dirt enclosed, soft, a cinch to weed and are really easy on the back!
I love getting out the gardening books and catalogs. My favorite catalog comes from my husband’s hometown of Decorah, Iowa. There is a place called Seed Savors that specialized in harvesting and keeping heirloom seeds. They have the most beautiful catalog you can imagine. I order tomato and pepper plants from them. Amazing variety and color.
You might think it a little early for me to be putting recipes that utilize garden fresh produce in the column but if I don’t do it now how will I know what to plant? Clearly I will need lots of fresh tomatoes, basil, onions, peppers and squash (not zucchini of course!) but some cute, fun yellow squash will be nice. I am getting excited just writing about this project.
Of course I can’t grow avocados or limes as long as I live in Minnesota so store bought will have to do in “Smack Your Grandma Guacamole.”
I have been testing and tasting guacamole recipes for years and this is as close to perfect as you can get. There is a balance of lime and cilantro that is mouth watering. No offense to my grandmothers Violet, Isabelle and Marion but they never made anything quite so delicious, that is why I named it Smack Your Grandma….it could be smacking her with a great big kiss!
I also hope to plant enough carrots to keep up with the demand. This year I think I will dedicate an entire raised bed to just carrots. I like to graph out the garden on paper and date them. That way I can keep track of what is planted where and how well it did in that box. I hope you too have caught the “gardening bug” then we can share beautiful baskets of produce.
I warn you though: if you try to leave a boat load of ill grown zucchini squash on my porch, our trained guard dachshund will lick you to pieces.
My grandfather used to say that once in your life you need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman and a preacher, but every day, three times a day, you need a farmer.
Brenda Schoepp
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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