We've Moved
2007 Goals
Do you set crazy goals for yourself on December 31st? Resolutions like quitting smoking, losing weight, getting that big promotion and other goals that you’ve been dreaming about for a while? Before that clock strikes twelve it's still possible that this could be your year. The big one that changes everything. The sky's the limit. Well here’s a secret for you, New Year's Eve is for suckers.
It's cold and dark out. The garden is shut down and the compost bin is frozen. It's too cold for the kids to get outside and burn off some of their limitless energy so they drive me and my wife up the wall. There's really nothing special going on.
Now the day that makes me reflect on the past and set goals for the future is May 21st, the first day of spring. I'm thinking what vegetables worked well last season and which ones do I want to try this year. Am I going to split those hostas or let them get even bigger? Do I want to expand the garden again or should I put in a drip irrigation system?
For a gardener, the sky's the limit on the first day of spring. 
This year, I'm making it easy on myself. I'm setting one goal. I want to make my own pickles. Not a life changing event for sure but it's something that I've wanted to do all my life.
You see, I tried to make pickles once when I was a kid. The results were scary at best. I put a cucumber in a jar of vinegar with a couple of dill leaves from the garden. Obviously not the best recipe but there was no internet in the 80ies and we didn't have a copy of Pickling For Dummies laying around the house either.
Well, I lost interest as I often did back then and my parents ignored it too. I think it actually scared them. No one touched "the pickle jar" for years. Seriously it was at least 5 years that we had a bloated cucumber in a jar on top of the fridge. We joked about "the pickle jar" all the time but there it remained like a shrine to great cucumbers of the past.
Years later, I wound up throwing the whole thing out, jar and all before I moved out. If I had left it behind, my parents might have wrapped it up and given it to me for a birthday present. Don’t laugh, that's something they'd do.
It's about 20 years later now and I still haven't made my own pickles. I think it's time.
2007 will be the year of the pickle. I vow that this will be the year that I grow cucumbers, dill and garlic in the garden. I promise that they those ingredients will make it into a container full of brine and they will ferment like the wind. So it shall be written, so it shall be done.
What are your gardening goals for 2007? Post them on your blog and send me the link. Compostman [at] gmail [dot] com
I'll compile them in a future post so and we can all compare notes. 2007 could be your year too. Happy Spring!
7 Comments:
Gardening goals here?....well, I'd like to make us a little more self sufficient I guess. Grow more veggies that will keep awhile (potatoes, onions, carrots) and grow more veggies that I can freeze (peppers, maters for salsa and sauce) and LOTS of yummy herbs for drying! One of my biggest goals though is to grow tons of basil so I can make freezer pesto.
Happy Gardening!
I hope to hear from you, I will definitely be checking back soon!
I also like your idea about changing new year's resolutions making day to the first day of Spring!
My main goal for this year is to get at least one ear of corn before the Racoons, but I already wrote about that. I will think of others and write a post about it, linking to your call to action post! Nice job!
Rustic, I'd like to be more self sufficient too but I wind up giving my extras away to family and friends. I never have time to use my dehydrator or my vacuum sealer to save my harvest. Freezer Pesto is great to have around. Do you use an ice cube tray?
P~, Nice blog, I like those raised garden bed pictures. Good luck with the compost bin. I know a good resource about composting if you need it. :)
Marc, thanks for the pickling tip. I hope my family has as much fun pickling as it looks like yours did. And good luck with those racoons. I just bought 100 ft of deer fencing at Lowes the other day ($11) maybe you could do the same.
http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2006/05/25/crunchy-cucumbe
I haven't tried them yet, but I intend to. They aren't truly the pickles we are accustomed to, but they sound good and could work in a pickle emergency!