Kimberly Acres

My love of growing my own food goes way back to my childhood when my family planted a 10'x20' garden on the side of our house and when I would visit relatives in Georgia who had their own garden. I can remember the taste of my first tomato sandwich. At the time it was a strange idea but as soon as I tasted the tangy freshly picked tomato between two pieces of white bread with a healthy smear of mayonnaise I was hooked. Back then there was no raised bed, square foot gardening or organic soil, it was just a shovel, rake and some seeds from Bobs feed store in Evergreen Texas.

Times have changed since I was a kid and the acreage of the homestead is significantly smaller the air not quite as clean and time is much more valuable.

My goal to produce my own food is a passionate endeavor that has led me to my latest challenge. I have decided to try my thumb at two 3'x12' test plots within my yard which will be known henceforth as the south and north plots. Each plot has its own unique sun pattern which will lend itself to a variety of plant needs. I plan to place plants of all kinds in each plot to see what thrives in each. I have started over 300 seeds of 30 different plants from onions to blueberries.

The chapters that follow will chronicle the outcome of my goal and hopefully help any other armature farmers know what to plant and where. I may even throw in a recipe or two....but I promise not to mention the tomato sandwich again.