Merry Christmas

So having told my story and my plans to my family, my dad who always promotes gardening, gave me a great book for Christmas, Sunset Western Garden Book, which according to him, and the book itself, is the bible of gardening. It is broken down into sections, first it maps out the western United States, breaking the area down into climate zones. Roseburg is in zone six. Zone six is considered a maritime climate, with a long growing season, April to November, and 40 to 55 inches of annual rainfall in most places. The hills have good drainage, and are known for berries and Pinot Noir grapes. And I’m definitely going to try to make my own wine.
The next 500 pages of the book breakdown every type of plant you can think of, and then some, alphabetically, telling you what zones they grow in, how much light and water they need and general information about the plants. So I’m making a list of everything I want to grow, and I’m looking them up.
The last section of the book is filled with general gardening information, the tools you need and how to take care of the soil. One page is all about vegetable gardening. Very useful, so thanks, Dad.
I wonder how hard it will be to grow a vegetable garden, sometimes I think it should be pretty easy, I think I’m moving to fairly ideal conditions, and I mean, plants grow naturally, right? But still I do know that it will be work, but a labor of love. I can’t wait to get my hands in the dirt.
On the flip side... for his birthday a few weeks ago, Ed was given a book as well, this one is titled, An Omnivores Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. And from what we have read of it so far, it is following much of the grocery store food backwards, to see the origins of that Twinkie, Microwave Dinner, Rice-A-Ronie and Campbell’s soup, to discover that much of it is derived from corn. That’s where the energy starts. So even though through master-minded packaging we are tricked into thinking we have a diversified diet, we don’t. So, even though I plan on growing corn, I hope this process helps in the diversification of my diet.
Maybe I’ll have my own cows and feed them grass (most industrial cows are fed corn), and make my own cheese. And keep pigs and send them out to the butcher. Although Ed says pigs are dirty. And keep chickens and gather my own eggs. I wonder, and I can’t wait to start.
But for now I’m stuck in my Los Angeles apartment, with nothing to do, except read books on the matter.
So if you have any further suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them.