Introduction

Hi everyone, Mark the Gardener here.

I just decided to start this blog since I won a blue ribbon for my vegetable display.  I didn't have much competition in my small town, but it was the first public recognition I have ever received from in my 20 years of plant keeping.

Let me give you a brief history of my gardening experience.

I first got the "gardening bug" in my wild teenage years, while perusing a High Times Magazine.  I'll let you guess where my intentions were.  After being set straight by my mother, she took me to the local nursery/ greenhouse, where I immediately had a new passion and hobby.  That year, instead of buying people gifts for Christmas, I propagated plants for everyone.

The next year, I took over the landscaping at our apartment house, and it progressed from there.  I took over the care of plants that people would be about to throw away, bringing them back to life.  I collected houseplants and experimented with vegetables in containers.

A major stepping stone was when my wife and I moved to single family home with a big yard.  Immediately, I knew I had to start a vegetable garden in the ground.  We moved in on the first day of November, 2006 and before winter, I had already leveled out a spot with rock retaining walls and had my plot ready for spring to come.  
That winter, I read a book all about homesteading.  I need to find it again, not for the information, but just to remember what ignited this fire inside of me.  It described the fundamentals of gardening, composting, harvesting firewood and building sheds, root cellars, greenhouses, etc.  I planned out my garden on paper and anxiously waited for spring.

Fast forward to today and now I have my in-ground vegetable garden on its third piece of property and it is doing better than ever.  In the past 10 years, I have learned a lot of good techniques from several books, but I have also learned that I am not the one in control of my garden.  Whatever you choose to call it (God, Mother Nature, Weather, etc); that is what is in control.  No two years have been the same, and from what I have heard, they never are.  We can only use our knowledge, experience and creativity to overcome the challenges that are given to us.

This fall, I am trying to get some people on board in my town to start a community garden.  I spoke with some people on two different town committees and everyone liked the idea.  Let's see where this goes.

Until next time, may peace be with you! 

Signing off.

-Mark