If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you might already know that two of my favourite topics are knitting and self-sufficiency.
If I do talk (a lot) about knitting, yarn, stash and other woolly-related matter, I don’t think that I write enough about the second topic, and how important it is to me. I do share my little trips to the woods, where I forage and gather mushrooms or berries, the walks that I take in the country or in the city and find a clean patch of nettle or a crab apple tree.
But so far, that’s the only aspect of being self-sufficient that I have experienced. After living in China for quite some time and then in France, I didn’t have the chance to grow anything else than a few avocado seeds. So as soon as I moved to Latvia, I wanted to take advantage of my small balcony, and gain some experience of growing vegetables.
I’m still very far from my big goal/dream of owning a piece of land and growing vegetables from a patch garden, gathering fruits from a few trees, and some eggs from the chicks, but I still believe that I’m taking a step forward in archiving that dream. My mini-garden, if I even call it that way is very modest. A few months ago, I bought some seeds at my local nursery, some organic soil and recycled containers. At the beginning of May, some tiny baby tomato plants were popping out. But none of my salads, radishes or herbs wanted to grow. Since I never grew anything before, I was very doubtful regarding the outcome of my new hobby. I never really believed that I could actually grow something at home. But now that my tomatoes are about one meter tall, and each plant is carrying a few precious fruits, I’m started to hope that I will taste my first home-grown veggie this year.
The parsley is also doing great! As sons as I saw some leaves coming at the surface, I couldn’t help myself and cut some of them to season the meal that I was eating that day.
Last week, as I was getting more and more into growing some greens & learning about medicinal plants, I bought more seeds. And in just a week, the calendula and the thyme have already tiny shoots! This is so encouraging!
Are you also taking steps forward in pursuit of your dream?