What a year, right? I'll leave the political and economic concerns of 2011 for the press to belabor and focus on my small garden. I have opinions about government and banks but I've chosen to Occupy my garden. It is a proactive way to ameliorate the setbacks and stresses of the past few years. As far as our Southern garden grows and goes, it was overall a fantastic year. I am getting better at it and understanding what I don't understand better. Make sense of that! Here is one of the pearls I gleaned this year: you have your soil pH tested not for the blind annual chore that it is but because veggies like a pH of about .....and in our case our soil is too acidic. Well I knew that but I didn't believe it until my butternuts, zucchini and summer squash all failed simultaneously. Now I believe. I sent about an acre of soil to NC State right before Christmas and will hear soon how to fix it. It's free. Duh, me.
On this first day of the New Year 2012, ever a hopeful or superstitious Southerner, we'll have the traditional pork for luck, collard greens for prosperity, peas to honor the frugal living of those who did the backbreaking hard work of farming before us and cornbread 9no flour, no sugar, please) the traditional bread of the South. All are foods our ancestors ate seasonally. Our peas will be cowpeas from Carolina Plantations, the cornmeal is North Carolina grown and the collards are mine. I am oh so tempted to make collard sandwiches a local delicacy of fried corn pone with collards sandwiched in the middle. It is quite good and very filling.
Wishing all a more prosperous new year and the best of luck.
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