Summer went by
Hello to you all <3 I have to say that these couple last months went by in a flash - I have been so busy with studying, working as a sales person and all kinds of chores. Not to mention catching up with family and friends. Then again, summer is often like that. It is like everyone gets so filled with energy that they try to live for all the year, and when winter arrives, we close the doors and settle inside.
This summer has been different from before. And that is because I started this gardening project with my friend. In the end of May we planted peas, carrots, potatoes, strawberries, herbs, salads, zucchinis, cucumbers and flowers and during summer we watered them and saw them grow. There is nothing like showing your hands in to the soil and with you sweat and back ache work through the summer - because that is what it is! It is not all aesthetic jumping around with a basket and pretty dress. It is hard, physical work 99% of the time. Mud everywhere. Then for that 1% you get to enjoy the crops. And ah, it is all worth it.
I know that we didn’t save much money in food or that the crops weren’t huge. Profit wise - there isn’t much to it. But I have never felt more connected to my roots, to the way my ancestors have lived - or you don’t even have to go that far, how my grandparents have lived - than before. In todays society everything is made so easy for us. From the food we eat to the way we keep and cook it - if we even do that ourselves anymore. It doesn’t take much of our time or effort and we take things for granted, not having to work for it really. Or yes we work being able to pay for everything but it is not quite the same. Doing the hard work, seeing the growth and in the end enjoying the fruits of your labor, literally, made me deeply happy. It filled me with gratitude and joy.
So, what did we get?
With about 20 square meter space, we got about
12kg of potatoes each
2-3kg of carrots
3-4 litres of peas
about 10 cucumbers (still growing)
a few zucchinis (still growing)
herbs
flowers
some redcurrants
no strawberries, because the seedlings where so small - maybe next year!
also not much salads, they just wouldn’t grow (maybe it was the soil)
This is also that time of the year we collect all sorts of berries from the forests. I enjoy to pick especially blueberries, for they are in abundance here and so healthy and delicious, I like to put them in my morning porridge during winter time.
Self sufficiency and more nature driven life is something I definitely want to work towards. I want to learn old ways in gardening, cooking, crafting and all together in living. Maybe it is just me or maybe some of you feel partly the same?
Have a good week and enjoy these last days of summer! <3
