The Tools You Should Take in Your Garden.
As a chef, one my greatest joys and most private hells was walking into work, preparing for a shift, and doing line check. I would walk in to work, put on my apron, and walk up the line. I would first arm myself with a about 20 demitasse spoons and a glass of milk. Then I would walk the line, tasting EVERYTHING as I went. I made sure that the dressings in the garde manger station were still good. I tasted the dark chocolate sauce in desserts. I tasted steak sauces and gravies. I would dip spoon after spoon into sauce after sauce and as I tossed the used spoon into the sixth pan I carried with me, I would take a swig of milk to cleanse my palate. We had some great things on the menu, but when you have to taste everything on the menu, each and every night, it could be a bit much.
In my garden, I do not have such a problem.
When I say that there are tools you should take into your garden, I am talking about a series of unconventional things that I carry with me and I think others should as well. The first tool on the list, I would suggest is an appetite.
I know quite a few growers who grow things just because. They like to see the color of the earth turn brown in the spring and the green sprouts come out of it. They like to see the fruits and the flowers that come from their labor. For a lot people. that is enough. For people like me, it is the whole thing. My garden is a feast of the senses and I suggest the same for you.
I have a 1 gallon bucket that I use to carry all of the things that I think that I a going to need. There are scissors and clippers and a trowel and a rake. There are all sorts of other little clips and things and even a little string, just in case.
I never eat before going into my garden in the morning. I often prepare to bring things back, but never before. I am often armed with coffee that I have roasted and brewed myself and a liter of bottled water, filled from the tap. Far more often than not, I have my trusty knife and I am on my way.
I almost always arrive at dawn, as the sun is showing itself purple through the trees in the distance. While my coffee is still hot and the air is cool, the work begins and the tools come out. There are other little things that I keep in that bucket, but we will get to those in a minute.
My passion has always been for tomatoes. They are the first things that I learned to grow with any consistency and I always have a taste for them. One of my tools is a little vial of balsamic vinegar. I pluck a tomato (I have an affinity for Roma's), slice it with my trusty knife, and give it a quick spritz of water from the bottle to clean it. Take the first bite solo so that you can taste what is going on in the tomato. Taste whether the acid is right. See whether the flesh is red enough. Smell the heady and spicy aroma that only tomatoes have. Repeat, but this time add a little balsamic vinegar. Do it again, and maybe add a leaf of the basil growing nearby and wonder about what is happening in Italy right about then or maybe that same tomato with a bit of cilantro and the top of some garlic or red onion for some hints of Mexican food.
The point of all this is to love what you are growing and to take some time with it. When I go into my garden, it is with a hunger and a literal belief that I can taste changes that need to be made. All of your senses can go into building a better garden and your senses may be your best tools. You should also be adventurous in your garden. Take some sriracha, some sugar, or salt, taste whatever it may be first, then see how it tastes, then and there, with a little something added to it. The important part is to clip things, pull weeds, clean and glean, all of these things while surrounded by your plants.
Why not wait until you get inside?
Sure, but it is not nearly as fun or as interesting in my opinion.
What do you take into your garden? Comment below!
you can follow us
on twitter @thelifecoop
or
on instagram at @thelifecooperative
Do you have questions?
contact us at grow@thelifecooperative.org
In my garden, I do not have such a problem.
When I say that there are tools you should take into your garden, I am talking about a series of unconventional things that I carry with me and I think others should as well. The first tool on the list, I would suggest is an appetite.
I know quite a few growers who grow things just because. They like to see the color of the earth turn brown in the spring and the green sprouts come out of it. They like to see the fruits and the flowers that come from their labor. For a lot people. that is enough. For people like me, it is the whole thing. My garden is a feast of the senses and I suggest the same for you.
I have a 1 gallon bucket that I use to carry all of the things that I think that I a going to need. There are scissors and clippers and a trowel and a rake. There are all sorts of other little clips and things and even a little string, just in case.
I never eat before going into my garden in the morning. I often prepare to bring things back, but never before. I am often armed with coffee that I have roasted and brewed myself and a liter of bottled water, filled from the tap. Far more often than not, I have my trusty knife and I am on my way.
I almost always arrive at dawn, as the sun is showing itself purple through the trees in the distance. While my coffee is still hot and the air is cool, the work begins and the tools come out. There are other little things that I keep in that bucket, but we will get to those in a minute.My passion has always been for tomatoes. They are the first things that I learned to grow with any consistency and I always have a taste for them. One of my tools is a little vial of balsamic vinegar. I pluck a tomato (I have an affinity for Roma's), slice it with my trusty knife, and give it a quick spritz of water from the bottle to clean it. Take the first bite solo so that you can taste what is going on in the tomato. Taste whether the acid is right. See whether the flesh is red enough. Smell the heady and spicy aroma that only tomatoes have. Repeat, but this time add a little balsamic vinegar. Do it again, and maybe add a leaf of the basil growing nearby and wonder about what is happening in Italy right about then or maybe that same tomato with a bit of cilantro and the top of some garlic or red onion for some hints of Mexican food.The point of all this is to love what you are growing and to take some time with it. When I go into my garden, it is with a hunger and a literal belief that I can taste changes that need to be made. All of your senses can go into building a better garden and your senses may be your best tools. You should also be adventurous in your garden. Take some sriracha, some sugar, or salt, taste whatever it may be first, then see how it tastes, then and there, with a little something added to it. The important part is to clip things, pull weeds, clean and glean, all of these things while surrounded by your plants.
Why not wait until you get inside?
Sure, but it is not nearly as fun or as interesting in my opinion.
What do you take into your garden? Comment below!
you can follow us
on twitter @thelifecoop
or
on instagram at @thelifecooperative
Do you have questions?
contact us at grow@thelifecooperative.org
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