Gardening has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I live in the suburbs about 3 miles from the ocean in Vista, CA, with my husband and daughter (about 40 minutes north of downtown San Diego.) We gratefully have 340 days of sunshine a year/USDA Zone 10. Not only is my landscape dedicated to edibles, but also to CA natives. Two and a half years ago my daughter picked out some carrot seeds while we were visiting a local nursery. Before then, I’d NEVER grown a vegetable, particularly not from seed! Yikes! Well we gave it a whirl, and while the seeds were crammed into a deep pot (since my daughter decided to pour the whole package in), our darling seeds still emerged. It was a memorable day!
Soon after I dove in head first and dedicated a 13′ x 4′ area (and continues to expand) of my backyard that I was less than thrilled with to the venture of growing veggies. I’ve never dabbled in vegetables because of one little bitty thing: fear. Fear of icky big bugs, fear of failure and fear of the unknown. It’s all so silly, really. I can’t think of anything better to dedicate a patch of backyard earth to than growing food. It’s rewarding, fun and oh so yummy! (Those bugs have nothing on me.) Growing vegetables has proven to be easier than I ever thought. The results are quick and exciting. I’ve never had my garden give back quite like this. The section of my backyard where my vegetable garden grows is the lushest and most interesting part of my yard. (And it’s lead to healthier eating, too!) We also became proud owners of 3 Silkie hens the summer of 2011 (a great choice for a super sweet, small, friendly hen…great with kids) and 1 blue egg-laying Ameraucana named Henrietta (a super-reliable layer and loves people!). We love having fresh eggs. This blog is dedicated to promoting home harvesting and owning your own produce section!
Happy Harvesting,
Jessica
PS: I LOVE to cook and bake and will be sharing healthy recipes and food photos.
Bountiful Backyard 
Jessic-
Boy am I impressed!!! I had not idea what you were working on, I thought it would be just one page, a few ideas. This is off the hook! I can see it growing just like your garden. I am so very proud of you! Love, mom
I love your support. How cool that you and Mike ate fresh green beans off my vine today! You’ve taught me so much about gardening. You were the one who instilled it in me from an early age. Thank you for giving me that!
This really is awesome. You write SO WELL…it’s lovely to read! Thank you Jess!!!!
Thank you, Jenny! I’m so glad it’s interesting and fun to read. 🙂 I really appreciate the feedback!
Nice to “meet” you.
I came here by way of the post at Urban Homestead.
I like your story, and look forward to more.
Hi Natalie-I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed my blog. Thanks!
Happy Holidays Jess! This is so cool that you write a blog, it’s a great way to share your interests with all of us that don’t get to see you often. I will be sure to check in from time to time! ~Jeremy/Kathy Shidner & Christina Moseley
Hey … I had some horn worms on my blueberry bushes, so I’m going to try the marigolds … thanks!
I’ve never heard of horn worms on blueberries! Wow, I’ll have to make sure mine are safe this season. This is my first time trying the marigolds, so we’ll hope they can help us in our fight against pests!
same here, but I guess when a worm is hungry, a worm is hungry!
Jessica, You can propagate your Cherokee Purple very quickly and easily by simply rooting a few cuttings in water. I’m on my 3rd generation from a plant I bought for $3.59 @ Fullerton Ace Hardware 2 years ago. Thanks for the confirmation on the use of leftover coffee grounds with Sequoia Strawberries. Keep up the good work.
Hey, Jessica, I live in Pacific Palisades, and gardening for the first time. I’m chronicling my experience in a web series and blog, LATE BLOOMER http://www.youtube.com/user/kittrellkaye. Hope you will check it out! Glad to find your blog. Many of my bloggers are not dealing with a coastal microclimate, as are we. I look forward to your blog. – Kaye
Hi, Jessica, I lived in San Diego waaaaay back in the mid-70’s, and had the best gardens there! Gardening here in South Mississippi is definitely a challenge, and I do miss my San Diego garden…looking forward to more of your posts.
Hi Jessica, Love your photos and blog! Just saw that you had white wire fence edging (not sure what its called) around your Apricot tree in one of your posts. Where did you get that and does it really keep the chickens out? I need something to keep my ever foraging chickens out of my garden without the cost of a fence.
Thanks,
LaRae
Hi LaRae, We actually bought the white wire fencing edging at a garage sale but they sell something similar at the home improvement stores. It does keep the chickens out, particularly because it’s around a small area. The sections where I have it edging a large garden bed are not as effective because the larger hens can more easily fly over them. Best of luck and just be sure that the one you find is somewhat tall.
I would love to know how well the semplice fireplace throws out heat. Did you install a gas lighter? If so how?
It actually heats up very well! So much so that it can be too hot at times sitting on the hearth area. We didn’t install a gas lighter…just use the old fashioned lighter and newspaper to get it going.