Reflecting on 2021
2021 has been quite a year for us, in and out of the garden. There are so many highlights it is tough to know where to start. This was our first full year with the big PVC greenhouse. So much room for activities, and plant hoarding in this new 18’x36’ space. We quickly filled it with new plants, and countless propagates of the old ones. Growing right through the winter.
It allowed us room to stretch out and start a bunch more seedlings for the outdoor garden. We started a gross of tomato plants from seed. Twelve different mostly heirloom varieties. Ten varieties of hot and sweet peppers. We even got to experiment with multiple new plants from the seed catalogs.
We sold a some of these seedlings but not as many as we had hoped. Most of what was leftover got grown in various pots or raised beds. When we ran out of room there we even planted some in the compost pile.
The compost tomatoes didn’t last long once we began free ranging our new backyard chickens! These majestic beasts stole our hearts. Part of the family would be an accurate description of what they have become to us. All with their own individual quirks, and attitudes.
We added a Neural Oscillation Jammer to the tiny aquaponics system. Better safe than sorry. You never know who’s listening.
It also doubles as a tomato trellis. Getting a late start(July) wasn’t so bad as we harvested over 10lbs of Cherry Roma, Declan Special, and Cherokee Purple toms into October, long after the in ground tomatoes quit.
We were swimming in tomatoes this year. Multiple harvests, together yielding 80+ pounds of various heirlooms. By summers end our freezers were filled to capacity. Finally starting to have room again after many meals topped with Jenny’s roasted tomato sauce.
As winter was finally arriving, we turned our focus to converting 1/2 of our tool shed into The Grand Chicken Hotel. A place where Big Mamma, and the Bird Gang can stretch out. the next step is to install a run on the front and side.
Not all of our time was spent in the garden and greenhouses. We also made time to get out and find some adventure, gathering content to feed My Traveling Habit.
Huge shout out to all the friends, family, and complete strangers that have supported this endeavor one way or another. Most of all, my amazing wife Jenny. Without you I’d be gardening under a bridge somewhere. Thank you!
There are so many terrible things in our world that can make it feel as if the light is fading. That we had a good run but it’s time to lay down and give up. Even I can get caught in that trap at times. Not all is lost. I believe we are living through the birth of a renaissance. The ignition of an explosion of creative, cooperative productivity.
We live in a time where more and more people everyday have the vast wealth of human knowledge right at their finger tips. Many right in hand everywhere we go. These lines of communication and knowledge transfer are catalyst. Activating slumbering minds. Getting the fires burning and the gears turning.
Every backyard botanist, amateur blacksmith, garage tinkering roboticist, and dreamer gives me more hope to a brighter future. One where the majority of people are busy solving problems. Documenting their findings, and failures. Growing that knowledge base. Leaving notes so that others may pick up where we leave off.
I am overwhelmed with excitement for the future. Everyone has a part to play in it. There are great things to be done, undiscovered problems to solve, and infinite territories to explore. Do not idle.
