U of I Master Gardener: Learning to grow my own food | Gardening ...

Thirty-five years ago, almost to the day, my parents decided to move west. They unfolded a map of the United States and showed my sister Becky and me the journey we would take leading us 2,300 miles to the great state of Idaho.

It was a new adventure and while I was sad to leave my family and friends in Pennsylvania, I was delighted to travel westward across America.

The current Boise urban landscape has changed greatly since the 1970s, farm land has mostly given way to urban sprawl. However, despite population growth, Idaho is a geological wonderland, an outdoor enthusiast's playground, and a state ripe for new agriculture.

My father, Skip, introduced me to vegetable gardening. Our Idaho yard, like many, was mostly grass. It was not long after we arrived that my father removed a section of sod and created a ?Victory Garden? or traditional open row style. There he grew tomatoes, green peppers, radishes, parsnips, green onions, jalapenos, and mint. After the first year, the mint took over half of the garden. He also never once used pesticides; thank you, Dad!

I do not know how much of a help I was in the garden back then, other than eating, but I did enjoy walking up and down the rows of vegetables and watching our food grow on those hot summer days. Nothing tasted better than a sweet ripe red tomato plucked off our own vine and sliced over a juicy cheeseburger.

At the curious age of nine, I discovered there were many kinds of bugs that liked to hang out in the garden, too. I thought the unusually looking tomato hornworm was beautiful, but it could devour a tomato or pepper plant by morning and was not a welcome sight in my father's garden.

I will never forget his ?horribly hot? jalapenos. He patiently waited all summer for them to ripen and finally at their peak of freshness plucked one off the plant to taste. His bite was that of fire and was probably the first time I ever saw my father cry.

Our neighbor, just over the wood fence, needed some convincing to try the jalapeno. ?It's not too hot!?, were my father's words, convincing our neighbor to just try it. Without hesitation, our curious taste tester bit into the jalapeno. From the look on his beet red face and tears streaming down his cheeks, it may very well have been the last time he would ever eat a jalapeno pepper; they were that hot!

In the 35 years since trekking to Idaho, my family dynamic has changed in so many ways. What once began as a small nuclear family has evolved into a much larger and diverse family. I am blessed to have four more parents (including my in-laws), seven amazing sisters, a couple brothers mixed in for some sense of balance, a loving husband and two adventurous boys of my own, several sweet nieces, a spry nephew, and a surprise niece or nephew on the way.

It has not always been an easy path nurturing so many different relationships but it has been worth all the laughter, tears, and late night talks. I have found true companionship within my family.

To me, gardening is similar to the dynamics of family. It is the experience of caring and growing, watching, learning and listening, nurturing and patience. When cultivated with care, we are enriching our lives with an abundance of blessings. When necessary we take risks and sometimes make mistakes. Just as the dynamics of a family evolve so does that of a garden.

We often share meals together and most recently began the discussion and planning for a new adventure, an 'Ohana mala - Hawaiian for "family garden." My stepfather, Jeff, has been an avid gardener since his boyhood days in Maine. He too had a sense of adventure and moved to Idaho in the early '90s. I can usually find him fly-tying, wood working, or out in his back yard garden, and on a rare occasion felling a tree with my mom. It was his idea and dream of having a larger plot to grow vegetables that we began our planning to create a unique family garden.

My sister Becky and her husband Mario have a large undeveloped garden area on their property. It is fenced off, irrigated, and perfect for our family to come together, grow our own organic food, and share it all come harvest time. Together we will also learn to can our produce so we can continue to enjoy our fruits of labor through the winter months.

My mother, Kathy, and Jeff have been canning for several years which often leads to new recipes that I continue to be inspired by. They are creative in the kitchen and cook up some fantastic meals together.

Our family garden plan is quite simple. After the first irrigation in April, we will all meet to clear the garden space. The plot has not been tended to for many years so we have some grunt work cut out for us. Once the area is cleared we will create a Victory Garden, ideal for irrigation watering. This open style row garden is also convenient should we choose to fashion hoops over the rows to extend our growing season. Each family has chosen several different types of plants to grow, mostly vegetables. This will ensure we have a variety of produce to share with each other. When we sow the seeds we will be placing them strategically in the garden using the theory of Companion Planting. The basic theory of companion planting is growing selected varieties of plants together in the garden, so they can both benefit from each other. Different types of plants exude different types of natural chemicals in the soil. Certain combinations of garden plants thrive on the mix of these natural chemicals. Companion plants (whether a combination of vegetables, herbs, fruits or flowers) when planted together, produce higher yields, are more vigorous, and are better able to defend themselves against disease and insects.

Likewise, the opposite is also true in non-companion gardening. Certain types of incompatible plants, placed near each other in the garden will be less vigorous, produce smaller and fewer vegetables, may be more prone to insects and disease, and sometimes even die.

Permaculture.org has a detailed companion and non-companion planting guide for easy reference.

My father and stepmother, Sally, live in Weiser now. They grow asparagus, tomatoes, roses, and a beautiful climbing clematis that blooms bright purple flowers every year. When their travels bring them to Boise every so often, they too can enjoy the family garden and see its transformation. After all, it was my father's interest in gardening that sparked mine as a little girl. I am thankful for my father and my stepfather. They have taught me how to be a steward of our Earth and continue to teach me the beauty of growing my own food.

Cheers to your 'Ohana mala, may it be as bountiful in love and peace as ours.

If you have gardening questions or ideas for this column, email Amy McIntyre at IdahoGardenGirl@gmail.com.

Source: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/03/20/2043918/u-of-i-master-gardener-learning.html

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