One thing you may not know about me (besides my past proclivity to star trek conventions) is that I like getting dirt up under my finger nails.
The Riverhouse back 40, which is how i refer to a 40 sq. ft. patch of yard beside the building, has become a country retreat for me and a few of the others in the building.
A few months ago my neighbor brought home a bunch of seedlings and a dream. That has since turned into a thriving paradise of salad.
On the list of goodies are Squash, Zucchini, Okra, Turnips, Tomatoes and Watermelon. There's other stuff too but those are the highlights.
Am I the only one in downtown Knoxville donning overalls and a pitchfork? I like to think of this as my own solution the poor Zsa Zsa's green acre problem. Here are some recent pictures.
First Fruits
Zucchini Galore
Scare Crow??? Oh well at least she's cute.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Farmer Pol
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Yum. I meant to have an herb/tomato/jalapeno garden in my window box but then I never did it. I commend you and your veggies. You could make a delicious ratatouille.
Pol! What a wonderful post, and such a quaint Molly Wizenberg-esque photo composition on the summer-squash-and-basil still life!
Our little miniplot takes so little time compared to what it kicks out for us. How much time do you spend wrangling in the Riverhouse Back 40?
Man, if everybody did this, we wouldn't have to mow the Amazon anymore. We could take Sundays off.
My friend and I had a little vegetable garden in Maplehurst last summer. We bought all our seeds (and horse hooch) from the farmer's market. It was good times.
My wife and I just moved from Vermont to Knoxville, and moved into the Riverhouse yesterday, and this garden was one of the first things I noticed.
Up in Vermont, eating food from your own garden was par for the course, even though the growing season is not much over two months, and the climate only allows for about five vegetable choices, and no fruits (except apples).
Given that Knoxville is about 10 climate zones south of Calais, Vermont, I expected that moving down here, I would see gardens, and fresh local food everywhere. I have been really disappointed in that regard...until now! Hopefully my wife and I can be of assistance in keeping the gardens going.
Great post, and now that I think of it, kudos for the apartment-living-but-still-has-a-garden person that you are.
I can't wait to see the Pol and wife taking a Sunday stroll through their country retreat - Pol in Seersucker suit and wife w parasol.
Yay! Time for veggie kabobs, mint tea and pesto! I still think we need to present a proposal for the "poop" hill for next year.
-the dreamer
i didn't know that the pol was so green! this summer has to be the most popular time to garden since like ww2. up here in north knox (and nearby parkridge) there is a growing community of gardeners, mr. and mrs. lo actually have three groups sharecropping in our backyard! sharing the harvest is really what community is all about. (isn't that also why wendel berry likes tobacco farming?) there are too many good reasons to garden in knoxville than not. there is a limit, i've found, on what you can do as a first-generation gardener before burnout occurs. but it sure is hard to beat fresh veggies and berries, and hand shucked corn!
I tried to grow some corn downtown, but it doesn't do too well on an office building windowsill:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1263386&l=9da7deed37&id=503012554
Hey, whose VW bus is that in the last picture? Y'all got some damn hippies in that there River House nowadays?
Josh: Welcome to the building!
I am thoroughly impressed Pol. When you cooking the rest of us dinner?
I remember the Star Trek conventions -i think thats your real identity - not farming. Im just saying...
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