En garde! The fencing has begun

I got the chicken wire fencing and metal posts, and three hours later I had a fenced in garden. It was easier to do than I thought it would be. The hardest part was getting the fencing tight enough. I initially planned to run the posts every five feet apart, but the guy at Agway suggested doing every ten feet, and if the fence was drooping just use a wooden stake at five feet to pick up the slack. I only had to do that twice. I think it turned out pretty good.

To make sure that the bunnies stay out, I installed the fence at 4 feet high with an extra foot resting on the ground to prevent any critters from digging under the fence. Then I took some old planks from the compost bin in the back of the yard and ringed the edges of the garden with those.

I found an old window frame in the shed and wrapped the left over chicken wire around it to make a gate. I nailed some broken pieces from an old wooden privacy fence on the top to make a handle so that we aren't grabbing any stray, jagged edges of chicken wire. It has instant charm. Now I need to get the last two posts in the ground and hinge the gate to one of them. That wil require a post digger. I just hope this turns out better than the ladder fiasco.

How we spent Earth Day

I know Earth Day was last week, but I wanted to post these pictures of how we celebrated Mother Earth. We got our hands and feet (Vivi!) dirty by tilling the garden. Unfortunately the tiller I rented didn't work as well as we had hoped (the blade-depth adjuster was broken and we could only go down a few inches), but it was great to stir it all up.

When we were shopping for houses last summer, we kept coming back to this one over and over. Part of the appeal was the backyard and the garden. Although nothing was planted in the garden (the previous owners had already moved out), the soil was just begging for some attention. So I was eager to get out there and start digging. Actually there is one thing growing: rhubarb. You can see the plants in the background of the picture. Anyone have a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb pie?

The garden is pretty big, and I didn't want to take on more than I could handle. So I only tilled part of it—20 feet by 25 feet, which should be enough space to plant the seeds I ordered: lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, peas, and cucumbers. Some of these need to get in the ground right away, but before I plant anything I need to put a fence around the garden. I assumed I had deer nibbling at my tulips but I haven't seen any. Instead, I think we might have some hungry rabbits. So I'm not sure if I can get away with just a 4-foot fence or if I should go for the taller deer fence. Any suggestions? That's this weekend's project. Wish me luck.

I'm back and ready to cook

It's been way too long since I've posted and a lot has happened since then. First off, my fridge died. We've been living without a full-sized fridge for nearly two weeks. The crisper started freezing the veggies months ago, but the repair man wouldn't come back to fix it (see ya in small claims court!). And then one night I got home and the entire fridge smelled of burning-plastic. I opened the door and saw burn marks on the bottom shelf, and part of the door was melted. Fred and I pulled the fridge away from the wall, unplugged it, and thanked our lucky stars that the entire apartment didn't burn down (yes, there was a little bit of drama).

We moved the food to a cooler for two days before giving it to my sister to eat (Hey, Kath how was that aged gouda?). Then we bought a small bar fridge that is now in the dining room. We haven't really been cooking since we can't keep too much food in the apartment. So we've been ordering a lot of take out—thank God we finally got a Thai restaurant in Washington Heights!—and making really simple things like pasta and quesadillas. But the new fridge comes Thursday and I can't wait to restock it and start cooking again.

The other big news is that we bought a house in upstate New York. I'll be posting quite a bit about the journey we took that got us to Copake, N.Y. But right now all I want to say is that the kitchen upstate is HUGE, and we can't wait to start cooking. There's also a giant garden in the backyard that is just calling out for some TLC. I don't know anything about gardening so I've been checking out my upstate neighbor Margaret Roach's blog, Awaytogarden.com, for inspiration. If anyone has any tips on starting a garden, please feel free to send them along.

Once the new fridge is full, a slew of new posts will be coming your way. I've been clipping and saving some recipes that I'll be testing over the next few weeks. I'll also be posting about learning about rototilling, starting a compost heap, and growing my own food from seeds.