Mountainside Gardening

      When you decide to live perched on an excavated shelf, high on a mountain in the middle of what is essentially a forest, you face a few challenges.  I’ve written before about the rarity of “wired” utilities; obviously when it snows, you don’t go anywhere; and it is constantly an issue convincing delivery men that their vehicles really can make it up my driveway.  But the one challenge I was determined to conquer on the mountain was having my very necessary fresh vegetable garden.

    I have gardened all of my life and I am not about to give up on the taste of newly picked flora nutritio.  When I informed my wife that I was going to put in a garden on the only tiny section of flat space that is not occupied by the house foundation, well, she told me to “stick where the sun does shine.”

     My wife, Shirle, says I don’t mention her enough in my posts, so there, she’s mentioned.  I’d include a picture of her also, but from what I understand, after she killed me and destroyed my camera, she would have to hunt down each one of you, too.  It has something to do with Jimmy Hoffa and witness protection.  I don’t fully understand; I try to not pay attention to her family’s business, it's healthier that way.

     

     Anyway, there is a small level area between the rock face of the mountain and my driveway that actually gets sun most of the day.  I took Shirle’s advice and stuck it…there.

     In spite of the “winter that refused to quit” and the tiniest of sunlit spaces, my garden is coming along quite nicely.  Pictured is garlic, three varieties of tomatoes, two different types of cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, both hot and sweet banana peppers, red bell and yellow bell peppers, and five varieties of salad greens, Great Lakes, Butter, Green Leaf, Romaine, and Swiss Chard.

     

     I haven’t been bothered by critters too much, but I did sublet a small cave to one of our local gnomes, and he eats chipmunks, so that seems to keep the other animals away.

     So far we have been enjoying some fresh salads, but most of my harvest won’t be ready for about another month.  Until then, it’s the Wednesday and Saturday Farmers’ Market.