An Overview of Gardening at Moonmooring

Welcome to Moonmooring blog. I write mostly about food (much of that about gardening) and about everyday stuff in the life of a gardener/regular person in the Ozarks.

Below, you will find several excerpts, and their links, from a sampling of my posts over the past few years. I think these will give you an idea of who I am and what we do here.

My partner, Gene, and I have been gardening intensely here for seven years. I had gardened previous to that over 25 years or so with varying levels of interest.

One of my earliest and fond memories is of planting peas. It was February 14, my traditional day to plant peas weather be damned. The soil was thin and poor, full of small broken stones with a little crumbly soil in-between them. I was on my hands and knees in the cold and the damp, scratching at the nearly frozen ground with a rusted trowel. I was doing my best at the time. The unmistakeable smell of snow had been in the air and halfway along the twelve or fifteen foot row the light changed. Snow fell. Huge flakes of snow. I fell back onto the cold ground and howled with laughter, one hand clutching dry pea seeds. That day I felt for the first time that I was a real gardener. I knew that snow was one of the best things a row of freshly planted peas could ask for. Just a flurry or a light dusting. It was a plentiful row of snow peas that year.

cilantro going to seed for the next go round – then called coriander

I have gardened with my grandmother, my father, husband, friends, Gene, in the desert, in a trailer park, in open fields, and on an apartment patio, and for the better part of the last 35 years in the Ozarks. If you have one tomato plant in a pot you are a gardener. And it is a feather in your bonnet on the road to healing the earth.

Now those excerpts and links.

From A New Year; written  Feb 4, 2020

“…in other news, … a great kitchen door after years of that area being butt ugly and dysfunctional. Don’t ask – just know this – in the Ozarks sometimes houses are held together just fine with spit and masking tape.”

“The garden has overwintered nicely with greens to nosh on throughout, and carrots that just recently finished their last harvest, radishes, cilantro (I could fill bathtubs with cilantro!), green onions, all little things not taking much time nor space but providing a bit of fresh for the dinner table on nearly a daily basis.”

“I’m determined to spend less time and energy in the summer garden this year, as there is a book or two to write and it’s just too darn hot to garden a lot. Here’s the plan. Let volunteers grow where they may and see what happens. Oh sure, we will plant a bit of corn and the English peas went in yesterday and cucumbers! Oh gosh I miss cucumbers soooo much in the winter. Grocery store cukes just do not compare. There may or may not be green beans. I know I know… sacrilege. What will the grand-children eat if not “Gigi’s” beans?! There must be squash also, if we can beat the squash bugs back far enough without poisoning ourselves in the process. Who knows what else. Not me at this moment. It will all happen the way it will and likely by accident this year. A little chaos might be good for me.” Read More Here

January Musings; written January 24, 2019; celebrations of a garden

“…I thoughtfully and intentionally augment the already earthy smelling compost bin with what will become new dirt for the new plants quite possibly in a new garden bed. Full circle – these scraps, some of which were grown in this garden, are now going to contribute to the growth of the next round. Celebration can be that simple.” Read More Here

Summer Garden Winding Down;  written Sept 2, 2018

“This year’s irregular weather has provided challenging garden seasons and pushed us to some creative solutions. “

“I once jokingly said the only reason I grow okra is to be assured of something to compost. Tsk, tsk… I have learned to Love it.”

“One day we were lucky enough to notice pollen shed and watched for a while. It was fascinating and beautiful. For a comprehensive article on the whole story of corn pollination” Read More Here

Audrey the Compost Bin; written May 21, 2009

“My compost has a life of its own, as it should. Compost should contain gazillions of living organisms to add to the soil. Sometimes it seems though, that I live for my compost pile. It always wants to be fed, needs to be fed in fact. I mow and pile it on. I rake and pile it on. I weedeat, rake and pile it on. Once in a while I water it. If it’s lucky I bless it with a bucket of dilute pee. Over days I watch it breath in and out. Filled to the top with new grass clippings and dried leaves I imagine its lungs expanded and a few days later it heats up and collapses in upon itself. Empty lungs. Time to do it all over again.” Read More Here

Thanks for looking in !

Sarah