Welcome! My name is Shannon, and I have been actively gardening on a large scale for about 2 years now, and after a very successful Spring/Summer harvest, I thought it might be fun to document some of my successes and failures as we move into the Fall/Winter season and prepare for next year as well.We moved to Georgia from California in 2001. Little did we know there would be so many challenges to living and farming here. We were very spoiled in California, one of the most important and natural agricultural areas in the world.
Living in the Georgia Piedmont makes farming perhaps a bit more challenging than many gardeners would volunteer to tackle. We have a heavy, moderately fertile clay soil loaded with quartz, feldspar and sand that is prone to erosion. Finding ways around the native soil issue has been a challenge to be sure.
We also have extremely variable weather patterns that aren't always predictable. Weather can come from any direction, which keeps us on our toes.And to make it even tougher, we live on the Southeast side of the Blue Ridge foothills, which means we live in a rain shadow when the weather is coming from the West, which is the majority of the Summer season.
Despite these challenges, which I enjoy, I have managed to grow veggies and herbs like never before, and I want to share some of my experiences with others. It is important for us as human beings to reconnect with gardening, and more specifically growing our own food.
It is only in recent times that we have moved away from teaching this skill to our children, as well as teaching kids how to preserve food by dehydration, smoking, and canning. We have become dependent on the government to provide everything for us.
Our children think that food comes from grocery stores. It is our responsibility to reestablish this all important aspect of our lives and our history. We need to remember the mantra, "No Farms, No Food."To encourage and excite my fellow gardeners, I have added several pages outlining some of my more successful discoveries and techniques that I hope folks will find useful. If you incorporate these ideas into your own garden come back and share your results!
I do keep in mind of course that I owe my success in the garden to God. It is with His encouragement and guidance that I began gardening in the first place, and I am so grateful for the opportunities He has provided me and my family on this and so many other ventures.
I also hope you find the time each day to take a moment and thank God for all that He has provided you. When you watch the miracle of a tiny seed smaller than a pencil tip come to life and grow into a perfect and beautiful plant, remember that God is the magic behind the mystery, and may you marvel in His vision.