Reader's Gardens: Tereza's Treasures

Last week, bemoaning the fact that I won't have much of a garden this year (due to moving), I asked readers to send me their garden photos, and a little about why they started growing food. (If you'd like to participate, send your photos to kriswrite at aol dot com. If you have a blog or website, be sure to let me know, so I can link readers to it.) Tereza, a long time reader, sent this:

"I began gardening because I live in a small rural town and love to cook. I really wanted fresh herbs and other produce I could not find here or they were way too expensive. Five years ago we moved into this house and it is in the middle of 5 acres - so there's plenty of space for gardening. 
Before this, we lived in a garden home and my husband wouldn't let me do much in our backyard. So I tried planting herbs in pots and planted a few tomatoes in a corner. Although they produced well, I didn't know much about helping them thrive. When I moved to this house, I convinced my husband to build me 3 raised beds. He wanted to buy a tiller and till the ground, but I told him I wanted to begin small with something doable so I wouldn't get overwhelmed. Since I homeschool, I also wanted to be able to, if necessary, take a break or neglect my garden, and not feel guilty. :)
Tereza says many of the greens were planted last fall; the lettuce was planted about 5 weeks ago.
So I planted green beans, kale, mustard, basil, cilantro, green onions, peppers, tomatoes and we all fell in love with gardening. My husband had experience eating produce fresh from the garden because his Grandpa gardened while he was growing up. But he never did participate in it much, other than eating. This time around he built the boxes, gave me some instruction based on what he watched his Grandpa do, and gave me support. Lots of support.
After the first year, I asked for more boxes, a compost bin, more pots with herbs and we began increasing. I got lots of free plants from our local garden center. I befriended an older man who gave me lots of tutorials. I watched tons of YouTube videos. I used your ebook on planting seeds. (Note from Kristina: She means Starting Seeds.) I asked you questions and you answered them. :)
Today I have 20 raised beds plus all the pots I used for herbs and tomato plants. I have 3 strawberry beds that got started with 5 free plants. Today I saw the first ripe strawberry of the season. Last year, I didn't have to buy a single strawberry carton! I love gardening. At the end of summer, I am so tired and don't want to do much. But then, I can't entertain the idea of not having fresh produce during the winter. So I plant greens and anything else that will grow in the winter. The gardening gives me motivation in the Spring to come outside and begin working. I love gardening.
We are thinking of moving and traveling. The one thing that always makes me hesitate is that I will not be able to garden and will have to give up my green patch. :)"


Tereza has a YouTube channel with some gardening videos, and she also blogs at Creating Treasures.

1 comment

  1. thank you for featuring me, Kristina! I remember well you were one of the first that helped me push forward. We moved in this house in June. So throughout summer I entertained the idea of a garden, then in the winter I started seeds as per your eBook and early spring my husband build me the boxes. Thank you again for being such a great inspiration. :)

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