My “Farm” on Lake Chapala

My "Farm"

I wanna be a Farmer….not the air-seeder/swather/combine type farmer my sons are on their paternal Family farm in Saskatchewan; a vegetable/herb garden type of farmer.  Mr. Wonderful says it will be a “garden”….ok, fine, but I still like the idea of being a farmer in my retirement.

The space in this photo is at the east side of Casa Luna de Miel.  The picture was taken mid-morning, so the space will have a mix of full sun and shade with the area directly behind the casita pretty much full sun all the time.  That white building with green trim is the casita.  It houses gym equipment, a sauna and a bathroom.  The tall cactus at the right is about 8′ from the bougainvillea-covered front fence. I have a plan to build 2 large (8’x10′ or so) boxes raised up about a foot from the ground.  I often have issues with a sore back, so the whole bending down to weed is going to be a challenge.  Lee Valley tools has a little gizmo with a seat and wheels that I have been eyeing.  I have put it on my Christmas list, so Santa can give me something like that rather than a diet book.

I want to grow a variety of tomatoes and peppers and I don’t know what else, yet.  A lady who lives just down the Lake planted a vegetable garden with cabbages.  After an infestation of bugs killed her cabbages she decided not to bother with them.  “I’m not going to grow anything that literally costs a dime a dozen at the market”.  Excellent point LN.  I’ll decide as time and experience (trial and error) warrant.  I haven’t grown a garden in years.  I haven’t decided where exactly I’ll grow my herb garden.  Lots of folks say grow it close to the kitchen, so it’s handy.  Makes sense.

I’m looking forward to learning.  It is a year-round growing season, so I will learn what to plant and where.  Planting before the rainy season should be ideal.  The rainy season starts about mid-June and ends about mid-September, give or take a few weeks on either end.

I will grow flowers as well.  We have many flowers in the garden now, and I will add several varieties.  I love roses.  I want to plant roses in patches with messes of colour.

A rose in our garden

The roll around gizmo has a tractor seat and I’ll wear a  John Deere hat.  That’ll have to do.