But what if you can’t or simply don’t grow good food to supplement your diet? No wonder Americans are forced to make difficult choices: good health or putting food on the table?

I’ve made no secret about how much I abhor my lawn. When we bought the house, it was sickly. And as we we enter our sixth seventh growing season, the thing is just a lousy lump of weeds. I simply don’t have the resources—money, time, desire—to create and maintain grass. Grass! That which does nothing but suck nitrogen from the soil.

Which leads me to wonder, where did the lawn come from? And why are Americans in love with it?

Virginia Scott Jenkins has written The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession, and I’d really like to read it. Because the best way to combat your enemy is to understand it, right?

I want to redesign the lawn to create artful, productive beds. Something that’s beautiful to behold. But back to the issue of resources, money and time are what’s holding me back. I’m not a landscape designer, and I’ve already admitted to being a poor planner. How am I going to do this? And how am I going to find the guts to do it if this isn’t our forever house?

I promptly got our the shovel and attempted to turn the compost, hoping that the sun had warmed it enough. No such luck; the core is still frozen solid. I managed to work the top, and added in some leftover leaves from the yard waste pickup bin.

Then I picked up sticks and inspected the the beds. Things are pretty soggy, and even downright smelly. But it felt so good to be doing stuff outside.

On Sunday I started fresca strawberries and green/purple globe artichokes. I’ve never grown either of these, and I suspect both are a little challenging, especially with the artichokes. In this climate, I have to trick them into thinking they are two-year-old plants.

My generation barely remembers a time when exhaustive food labels weren’t commonplace. We grew up finding colorful produce in the supermarket in the winter. And as I set up my own household after the Food Network had launched a new mainstream food culture into our homes, “artisan” ingredients have become as everyday as a banana—which by the way, I would still qualify as an exotic fruit.

I think this is going to be a great read, right up there with Omnivore’s Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Or maybe even Fast Food Nation?

If you’ve read the book, let’s talk after I get through reading it. And if you’ve got some other reading suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

But all the slush in the world can’t dampen my excitement for the coming of spring. In fact, I’m a little worried it will get here too fast; there’s so much to do. I’m waiting for my seed order to arrive, I’ve got to set up my growing lights, finish my planting calendar, buy a rototiller…

So keep it coming, Mother Nature. I could use a little extra time.

The results seem to be inconclusive, though leaning heavily toward it being OK.

I’ve added my old shredded phone bills and medical statements to the compost before (watch the wind whip shreds of your life across the backyard!), but I’m questioning whether I want to make it a regular practice.

Some people think it’s OK if you’ve got a shortage of brown matter. Others say that the waxes and metals in the inks make it a bad idea.

My thinking is that it’s biodegradable, it’s uncoated, and one less thing that has to be collected by our recycling service. Plus, I’ve always heard that newspaper makes a great soil amendment.

Here’s an interesting list of household items that are OK to be composted. I never considered adding hair, but I’ve always tossed in tea bags and coffee grounds with filters.

What do you think? Do you have any creative additions to your compost?

POLE BEANS
Purple Podded
Blue Lake

CARROTS
Royal Chanteray
Purple Dragon

SALAD GREENS
Merlot Batavian
Red Salad Bowl
Jericho Romaine
Arugula

SWISS CHARD
Bright Lights

PEAS
Snowflake
Petit Pois Precoville

TOMATOES
Heirloom mixture: Banana Legs, Big Rainbow Striped, Black Russian, Brandywine, Costoluto Genovese, Green Zebra, Persimmon

STRAWBERRIES
Fresca

PEPPERS
Red Beauty
Jalepeno

WINTER SQUASH
Pasta Spaghetti
Spooktacular Pie
Howden’s Field

BASIL
Sweet Broadleaf

BROCCOLI
Waltham 29

Then there’s some nasturniums, ornamental kale, and morning glories. PLUS, the possibility of a cool added surprise, if I can make it happen. I don’t want to jinx it the way I did the wheat.

If I had to cut anything from the list, I’ll probably reduce the tomatoes, but then I’d add some onions and garlic.

The list seems basic, but the reality is that this is what will get eaten in our house.

Anyone have anything exciting on the list this year?

Am I crazy, or on-par?

I don’t know what took me so long. What was I waiting for, a nor’easter? Luckily, there’s a blizzard blowing now.

Basil, thyme, onions, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and…THAT’S IT. Perfect. Yum.

This is a little difficult for me, because I struggle with reconciling my dreams for the gardens with the realities of life.

For example, I would love to turn the front lawn into an artful landscape, rather than have a bunch of boring grass. But one day we hope to sell our house and upgrade to dreamier diggs. We live in a typical suburban neighborhood where Scotts lawns are abundant. Removing the lawn could do serious damage to our home’s value.

If I could sum up how I wish things were, I fall somewhere between wanting the whole property to be an English cottage garden, and wanting productive spaces for food crops.

Since there is still a month or two before things begin to warm, I thought I would sit down and take a hard look at what I’ve got.

I created a basic layout of the property. And actually, I’m surprised at how much space is dedicated to gardens and living things. It’s a simple exercise, but it’s really forcing me to see the space for what it truly is.

My next step is to consider what I want to grow, what I want to accomplish, and then figure out how those goals fit into the picture.

For starters, I’m going to find ways to incorporate more food crops into ornamental gardens.

Then I’m going to see what kinds of things should be moved or eliminated, like the roses. I struggle with them, but I really don’t have a good home for any of them, except the bush rose on the northwest corner of the house.

Hopefully I’m on my way to better planning and less frustration!