Blueberries. The girls eat them by the fistfuls. Organic blueberries are not cheap. I'm going broke! I decided it was time to invest in blueberry bushes. I bought two. I had no idea you could grow blueberries in Southern California. I thought they needed cool places like Oregon and Washington. But a friend of ours has blueberries. She told me there are varieties that require less "chill period". And her's were in wine barrels to supply the bushes with the right soil. And so I did the same.
As I mentioned before, the area surrounding our pool has no shade. It's an ideal spot for growing lots of edibles that require lots of sun. The bushes are now hanging at the end of the pool. My plan is to do a vertical, edible garden on the west wall of our property. That pallet in the corner of the picture is the beginning of hopefully something wonderful.
Food prices are climbing. I'm focused on eating clean, without pesticides or GMOs. That gets pricey. I'm also tired of wondering if the label on my food is real. And, I also want to teach the girls about gardening and plants and where our food comes from. Growing our own food seems like a good next step. We'll see how it goes.
When I bought the berries and barrels and a few other seeds and stuff a man was behind me in the check out line. He says to me "you must have a really green thumb". I cringed. I don't....really. I told him so and I said I hoped my $300 investment was't going to turn out to be a waste. I've feared doing an edible garden for years. All the gardening I've done on our house has been a "learn as I go" method. I finally decided it's time to try this. I got the courage.
I bought a little organic basil plant back in March. That little baby has grown and supplied us with all the basil I need to make our pesto sauce every other week. I use to buy so much basil and waste so much basil. No more! It's always fresh and delicious. I've saved at least $50 since I haven't bought a bunch of basil since March!
Here's an interesting article from the LA Times about blueberries for Southern California.
Labels: edible garden, garden
