Potted Garden

Living in Tennessee has become a time of new beginnings for myself. In addition to my time spent trail riding & fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains, I have continued becoming more agrarian in my lifestyle. Although I grew up farming and raising cattle with my family on weekends and occasionally growing jalapeno peppers, I never had a significant interest in farming. I don't know whether my agrarian behavior has increased as a result of the dismal economy, my interest in being self reliant, or whether I am destine to follow the path of my forefathers.

Dearest and myself have been in the process of growing things in pots for the last few months because we planned on moving . We are only leasing and I have become increasingly annoyed by others asking whether we are buying a house. I understand that the current administration is going to give a $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers, but if the government wouldn't take so much of my money I wouldn't have to be concerned about the $8,000. Instead, my money is being given away so that others can buy a house.

Getting back to the potted plants. I have many things growing ranging from herbs to vegetables. In my first herb pot, I have dill, cilantro, parsley, and basil. As you can see, the basil and parsley are growing slowly.
This is our tomato plant. This tomato plant was grown locally in the Maryville area and for sale at the local Co-op. We still are unsure about the type of tomato plant, but I will note that this plant is loaded with tomatoes. It has enough that we have to prop it up against the swing.

My Concord grapevine is growing well. My next major project is going to be trellising the vine. Additionally, I have a Bluecrop Blueberry and a Chippewa Blueberry plants. Beside that is the thorn less Blackberries. I have kept them staked this year in hopes to restrict growth until I can decide where we will be next.

Dearest & I started a new lease on a house out in the sticks. If it wasn't for the daily commute I would probably want to get even further away from the city. Anyway, we have plans to plant some onions, corn, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, turnups, radishes, and peppers. Hopefully, it isn't more than we can handle.

The ducks and chickens have grown quickly and are now spending their days out in the yard. Every morning I go down into the basement to get them. Most of the time the chicken is flying around, Odd Duck is out of the pen, and Rubber Duck is frantically trying to figure out how it can get out of the pen too. When I return home at night, this is the typical sight: food turned over, water spilt, lots of "presents" left on the back porch, and 2 starving ducks and 1 starving chicken waiting on me to open the basement door so that they can get in their pen to chow down. Spoiled ducks...