[Bill]

Hi everyone! Spring is right around the corner. It's time to consider what we are going to plant. It's easy to set up a small "bucket garden" anywhere. Get a few buckets or pots and hand mix some potting soil with some humus, and chicken or cow manure. It's amazingly easy to grow your own veggies and greens in a simple bucket or pot on the patio. Spinach and swiss chard grows well, and any time you want to supplement a salad, just go out and snip a few leaves and they grow right back. Radishes grow quickly, and a favorite of mine is radishes, carrots, potatoes, tossed in olive oil and roasted in the oven. A patio or deck garden is a great way to include children and other family members without a whole lot of work. Everything you grow is fresh and healthy. Mothers can sit with their children and say," what would you like to grow this year?," and write down their suggestions in a notebook, and then when you feel able, go buy the seeds and materials. It's a good way to get out into the sunshine and get a little exercise. Go do it! Why not? I expect to hear stories of wonderful bucket gardens come this spring and summer. Love, Bill