Dreaming of dirt

I love to garden.  I have for a very long time.  Mostly, I love growing things to eat and share with other people.  There is something about growing something that will nourish your family that brings so much satisfaction to me.  Before owning my house, I grew things in pots and had a pea patch (community garden plot) for a while.  These were nice, but only pacified me until I was able to have my own garden at my own home that I could go wild in.  I love to try new things and am always collecting seeds for new and different things to grow.

Photos of my garden in the US.

When we decided to move here, one of my first thoughts was about gardening.  There isn't a lot of land in Japan, especially in cities like Tokyo.  Although I have grown things in pots before, I am not really good at it.  I tend to forget to water things and they dry out and die.  Even though I kept telling myself that at least I could grow things in pots, I really wasn't very excited about it.

Gardening is something that feeds my soul unlike anything else.  I like getting my hands so dirty they don't come fully clean when I wash them.  I like the heat on my back when I'm pulling weeds.  And, for me, there is nothing more satisfying that filling my son's Radio Flyer with beautiful produce that I take home and turn into dinner and put into jars for the winter. 

Harvest shots from the US.

I've had to learn to share since having my son.  He has always known that he can eat anything from our yard.  So, we've had years where none of the cucumbers make it inside the house (the next year I tripled the number of cucumber plants!).  We've had similar issues with blueberries, strawberries, peas, plums, cherry tomatoes, and more.  It's a great lesson to learn.  I love watching him pick a blueberry bush clean and search for ripe tomatoes.

I recently received the good news that I was approved for a pea patch!  It is a short 5 minute bike ride from our house.  It will be my place to grow and find some solace.  I am so incredibly excited.

So, now I have to find seeds.  This gave me pause because I want and need to find quality seeds - organic and non-GMO.  So, I contacted my favorite seed company in the US (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) and they sent me the name and contact information for three seed companies in Japan.  So, I have my first task ahead of me - learning more about these companies and deciding what I want to grow in my little pea patch.