One thing you can say about gardeners is they're "down to earth." A successful vegetable garden can greatly enhance the quality of food that goes onto your table at meal time. The idea of knowing where the food you eat comes from and what has gone into its cultivation, development and growth are exceedingly important concerns to those who take the condition of their health very seriously (and others who may be just a little paranoid about the safety of the food supply). If you believe "you are what you eat" then putting in a vegetable garden each year and preserving its bounty should be a priority, especially if you enjoy working the land.

The soil here is primarily Renslow Loam, deep and rich for productive plant growth. The growing season is ample for crops such as corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, and of course all of the salad greens. Water for irrigation is provided by the Kittitas Reclamation District.

The following article is reprinted with permission from the May - June 2004 FruitFromWashington.com Newsletter (Current issue available at: FruitFromWashington.com What's New).

Overwhelming number of options for gardens these days...we've always been partial to the long, boring rows of vegetables with berry patches here and there, and fruit trees round about, but there are places where gardening is more about artistic self-expression than it is about putting food on the table. Sorry Chuck and Katie, you need to get with the program. Growing your Matanuska Valley vegetables is anachronistic and terribly old-fashioned besides. It doesn't matter if you produced the best Brussel Sprouts that I've ever had in my life, snapped to sugary sweetness by those first hard Alaskan frosts. But it is difficult to discern the social status of Brussel Sprouts. The status garden is all about creating themes, color schemes, aromatic moods and sense experiences.

Yet, work is work. The sweat and labor that goes into growing beds of white flowers which only bloom in moonlight, is not much different from the work of cultivating row upon row of potatoes, carrots, beans, peas, and broccoli. All kinds of gardeners do battle with pests, fungus and plant disease. They need to water, mulch, weed and wait, and are rewarded with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when successful in their efforts. What's different is the reason for the choice of garden type.

Victory Gardens were encouraged for patriotic reasons. Urban Gardens were designed to salvage a connection with the land within a concrete dominated environment. Community Gardens were an attempt to establish human ties within an alienated society of strangers. The Display Garden is not so hard to understand. It's a garden for the purpose of showing-off.

Source: National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD (NWDNS-179-WP-269)

I don't have statistics on the number of carp ponds installed and Victorian gazing globes sold to American homeowners lately, but I'm thoroughly convinced they are a part of this trend. Watch for announcements of special garden tours in your area, and if you can't find any, organize a tour of your own because now more than ever, it's all about show.

Here is a chunk of wisdom out of the excellent Garden Primer (which you can get free by asking me for it): "One hour a day spent in a garden ten yards long by seven wide will supply vegetables enough for a family of six"; but the value of this remark lies in the application of it. If you figure a bit on that you will find that ten minutes a day will provide enough for one person, but six hours once a week won't do. Six hours a day will bring up a baby; but two days a week is criminal neglect for the other five days. If you once let the weeds get a good start, say after a rain, they will make even the angels swear. It's regular attention that the baby and the garden and your education and your best girl will require. - Bolton Hall, Three Acres and Liberty (1918)

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