Can you grow your own food and eat it too?

Something has just occurred to me today. I cannot do everything. I’ve been involved in my local church, home raising my children, coupon shopping for the things I can’t grow (yet, I tell myself), trying to have a social life, trying to please my family, trying to grow more and more of our own food, trying to cook from scratch. Yesterday I spent most of my day tending baby chicks (layers-to-be), and planting our summer garden. Somehow in between all of that I changed a few diapers and parented my children.

But for the past two days, we’ve eaten almost no homegrown food, in fact we ate chicken nuggets and tater tots for dinner! My husband and kids were thrilled to eat the factory food, but I felt like a failure as a grower-cook. I really need to pace myself so that once I’m done with the work in the garden, I still have the energy to cook real, quality meals for my family instead of relying on the processed foods I’m trying to renounce through my efforts in the garden.

Planting Time

It's been a busy pre-spring!
An unusually warm and sunny February inspired me to plant peas in the tiny area of the garden not currently being used as chicken pasture. The little pea seedlings are now growing well. I also lined the outside of the chicken fence with rotted hay bales, added a few inches of potting soil to the top of the bales, and planted lettuce there. The warmth from the composting bales seems to be giving the little seedlings a boost.
Two days ago we purchased eight infant chickens and brought them to live in our dining room for the next two months! The children are delighted, the husband is not. But we love eggs and therefore need more chickens!
Now it's already the middle of March and planting time is in full swing. Time to get turnips, carrots, beets and radishes in the ground. I could have plants in the ground now if I'd started them inside in pots 6 weeks ago. But better late than never, so my big plan for tomorrow is to start my broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and melons in repurposed plastic strawberry containers filled from the bottom up with old hay, manure, coffee grounds (for tomatoes and peppers only), and store-bought seed starting mix. I'm going to stack the containers in the dining room till they sprout, and then keep them outside during the day to get sun, and bring them in at night to keep them warm.
Dreaming of wagonloads of fresh produce and an abundance of orange-yolked eggs!