Mail Call: March/April 2011

By Grit Staff
Published on February 9, 2011
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At least one South Carolina reader was most impressed by GRIT's Guide to Homemade Bread.
At least one South Carolina reader was most impressed by GRIT's Guide to Homemade Bread.
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Daveā€™s tidy urban gardening oasis in Rome, New York.
Daveā€™s tidy urban gardening oasis in Rome, New York.
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This hen was lucky to survive, although without a bill, during the brutal 1937 winter.
This hen was lucky to survive, although without a bill, during the brutal 1937 winter.
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I enjoy Grit and the gravy recipes (January/February issue). When it comes to gravy, my dadā€™s recipe was for Jerky Gravy. Dad jerked a cow every year, usually after the first frost. Hereā€™s a picture of him and me, and this is how I learned to ride.
I enjoy Grit and the gravy recipes (January/February issue). When it comes to gravy, my dadā€™s recipe was for Jerky Gravy. Dad jerked a cow every year, usually after the first frost. Hereā€™s a picture of him and me, and this is how I learned to ride.

Dig into this issue’s Mail Call, letters to the editor from our readers. This time around, we heard from people about their gardening experiences, stories about making homemade bread, memories of draft horses and pheasants, and much more.

Our Own Little Paradise

Although I do not have sprawling acreage in rural America or a farm of my own, my father’s house includes a rare triple lot within our small community. It is surrounded by nature, and that space has been large enough to create a sizeable gardener’s retreat – a destination that we both love. There are only a few magazines I consistently subscribe to in order to absorb the knowledge and wisdom of the pros, and GRIT is one of them. I look forward to every new issue, as each is jam-packed with tools, techniques and resources to help nurture my gardening hobby.Ā 

As I excitedly searched through late-fall seed catalogs to plan next year’s garden here in central New York, we were in the midst of winter’s icy, cold, dim grips. While New York winters can be depressing at times, a recollection of the hours of fun spent in my father’s garden over the past summer is usually enough to snap me back to reality. I wanted to share the wealth, and provide a mid-July photo of our garden to help remind the readers of what we all have to look forward to in just a few short months.Ā 

It is not huge, but the fenced portion of the garden (about 30 feet by 40 feet) supports two or three favorite varieties of tomatoes, two types of corn (sweet and ornamental), an assortment of culinary and medicinal herbs, spinach and salad greens, several varieties of sweet and hot peppers, summer squash and cucumbers. Outside the fence’s perimeter, we often grow an assortment of whimsical ornamentals, including decorative fall gourds, luffa, birdhouse gourds and a variety of perennial flowers for decoration. Lavender varieties are tossed into the mix as well, and the smell is wonderful when working in the garden. Rounding out the urban gardening oasis is solar lighting, a stone path and a functional greenhouse.

Just talking about it makes me eagerly anticipate the approach of April, when we start many of the plants indoors! So, GRIT magazine, thank you so much for the years of valuable reading, the wealth of cogent information, and the hours of entertainment that your magazine provides. Happy spring and happy gardening!Ā Ā 

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