What To Plant In Your Garden Each Month of the Year

Taken from the Urban Farmer Seeds website. There are links to some of their items for purchase, in addition to the handy calendar.

January

It's time for garden catalogs to arrive in the mail. January is a great time to start planning what you will be planting in your garden. Look through your catalogs and find the vegetable seeds for your garden. Some flower varieties should be started in January. In a warmer environment you can plant certain vegetables but must be ready for a frost. Indoor herbs are always great to grow in a sunny window seal.

Herbs
Herbs are defiantly the most popular indoor plant to grow throughout the winter months. Try your hand at these 5 most popular herbs. Also check out the Urban Farmer Herb Kit
Suggested variety: Basil, Chives, Oregano, Parsley, Thyme

February

Get your garden planning started. In some warmer locations you can begin sowing your vegetable seeds outdoors. For cooler areas, February is a great time to sow your tomatoes and peppers. Start drawing out your garden for all the vegetables you want to grow. In late February there are several cool weather vegetables you can directly sow out in the garden. February is a great time to try a Garden Shot!

Broccoli
If you live in a warmer climate and can find a quick growing Broccoli variety you can harvest until it bolts in the hot summer sun!
Suggested variety: Calabrese

Herbs:
Plant heat loving herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage.
Suggested varieties: Italian Basil, Greek Oregano, Dill

Lettuce
Start a crop of salad mix greens that gets bright sun but not all day. Great for spring crops until the lettuce begins to bolt in the summer sun.
Suggested Varieties: Buttercrunch, Mesclun Mix, Black Seeded Simpson

Onions
Get those onion seeds growing. Be careful to select an onion variety appropriate for your garden zone. Northern areas should plant long day onions. Southern regions should plant short day onions.
Suggest variety: Sweet White Walla, Red Creole, Yellow Spanish

Peppers
Fresh, crisp peppers are a garden favorite. Peppers take up little space and can produce high yields when planted close together. Plant as many different varieties as possible. They come small, big, hot, mild, and an array of different colors. Start seeds indoors for best results.
Suggested variety: California Wonder, Early Jalapeno, Sweet Banana, Super Chili

Tomatoes
The most popular garden vegetable. Growing tomatoes is not only fun but treats you to some of the best tasting fruits in the world. Tomatoes come in many colors, shapes, taste, and sizes. Grow a few varieties every year to find your favorites! Start seeds indoors for best results.
Suggested variety: Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Roma, Sweetie, Heirloom Blend

March

March is the perfect time to get those tomato and pepper seeds started indoors ready for an early spring planting! Also a great time to start planting those cool weather vegetables that can withstand those last frost days of March and April. A great time to try a Garden Shot!

Beets
Sow beets now for a fast, early summer treat.
Suggested variety: Detroit Dark Red

Broccoli
If you live in a warmer climate and can find a quick growing Broccoli variety you can harvest until it bolts in the hot summer sun!
Suggested variety: Calabrese

Cabbage
Cabbage is one of the easier plants to grow in the garden. Select a variety that is right for your location (size and maturity length). Be sure to fertilize and water when cabbage head begins to form.
Suggested variety: Premium Late Flat Dutch, Golden Acre, Michihili

Carrots
Planting carrots by mid-July yields a fall crop that will keep in the garden until used.
Suggested variety: Little Finger, Scarlet Nantes

Corn
One of the most rewarding and fast growing crops to grow. Corn is delicious when cooked only minutes after being pulled off the stalk. Try a small plot of corn, working your way to a large field of several varieties.
Suggested variety: Peaches and Cream, Incredible, Sugar Buns

Cucumbers
Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Vine cucumbers can be the best tasting but need far more space than bush varieties.
Suggest variety: Spacemaster 80, Muncher, Marketmore 76

Herbs:
Plant heat loving herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage.
Suggested varieties: Italian Basil, Greek Oregano, Dill

Lettuce
Start a crop of salad mix greens that gets bright sun but not all day. Great for late summer and early fall crops.
Suggested Varieties: Buttercrunch, Mesclun Mix, Black Seeded Simpson

Melons
Melons are some of the most rewarding plants to grow. Great for hot, long summers. A staple for summer picnics and family fun.
Suggested variety: Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet, Hales Best

Onions
Get those onion seeds growing. Be careful to select an onion variety appropriate for your garden zone. Northern areas should plant long day onions. Southern regions should plant short day onions.
Suggest variety: Sweet White Walla, Red Creol, Yellow Spanish

Peas
Green peas and sugar peas are good to plant in July, and will produce a moderate fall harvest.
Suggested variety: Sugar Ann, Oregon Giant

Peppers
Fresh, crisp peppers are a garden favorite. Peppers take up little space and can produce high yields when planted close together. Plant as many different varieties as possible. They come small, big, hot, mild, and an array of different colors.
Suggested variety: California Wonder, Early Jalapeno, Sweet Banana, Super Chili

Spinach
Spinach is more of a cool weather vegetable and will produce until hot weather of summer. Planting in early March will ensure you have plenty of harvest before bolting.
Suggested variety: Bloomsdale, Samish

Summer Squash
Yum! Summer squash sowing in June will lead to fresh squash and zucchini in July and August.
Suggested Varieties: Cocozelle, Waltham Butternut

Tomatoes
The most popular garden vegetable. Growing tomatoes is not only fun but treats you to some of the best tasting fruits in the world. Tomatoes come in many colors, shapes, taste, and sizes. Grow a few varieties every year to find your favorites!
Suggested variety: Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Roma, Sweetie, Heirloom Blend


April

Yes, Yes, Yes! April is finally here and your garden soil is finally warming up! April is the best time to plant most of your vegetable seeds after your last frost. It's still not too late to plant tomatoes and peppers from seeds as well. Check out the below vegetables that can be started in April. Be sure to check your gardening zone for last frost dates. Try a Salsa Garden this spring!

Beans:
Start planting both bush and pole beans now that the soil and air are warmed up. Try a continual 7-10 day sowing of different varieties. This will give you continual bean crops and not one large harvest with wasted crop.
Suggested variety: Contender, Kentucky Wonder, Topcrop

Beets
Sow beets now for a fast, early summer treat.
Suggested Varieties: Detroit Dark Red

Cabbage
Cabbage is one of the easier plants to grow in the garden. Select a variety that is right for your location (size and maturity length). Be sure to fertilize and water when cabbage head begins to form.
Suggested variety: Premium Late Flat Dutch, Golden Acre, Michihili

Carrots
Planting carrots by April will give an early summer crop.
Suggested variety: Little Finger, Scarlet Nantes

Corn
One of the most rewarding and fast growing crops to grow. Corn is delicious when cooked only minutes after being pulled off the stalk. Try a small plot of corn, working your way to a large field of several varieties.
Suggested variety: Peaches and Cream, Incredible, Sugar Buns

Cucumbers
Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Vine cucumbers can be the best tasting but need far more space than bush varieties.
Suggest variety: Spacemaster 80, Muncher, Marketmore 76

Herbs:
Plant heat loving herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage.
Suggested varieties: Italian Basil, Greek Oregano, Dill

Lettuce
Start a crop of salad mix greens that gets bright sun but not all day. Great for late summer and early fall crops.
Suggested Varieties: Buttercrunch, Mesclun Mix, Black Seeded Simpson

Melons
Melons are some of the most rewarding plants to grow. Great for hot, long summers. A staple for summer picnics and family fun.
Suggested variety: Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet, Hales Best

Onions
Get those onion seeds growing. Be careful to select an onion variety appropriate for your garden zone. Northern areas should plant long day onions. Southern regions should plant short day onions.
Suggest variety: Sweet White Walla, Red Creol, Yellow Spanish

Peas
Green peas and sugar peas are good to plant in April, and will produce a May crop.
Suggested variety: Sugar Ann, Oregon Giant

Peppers
Fresh, crisp peppers are a garden favorite. Peppers take up little space and can produce high yields when planted close together. Plant as many different varieties as possible. They come small, big, hot, mild, and an array of different colors.
Suggested variety: California Wonder, Early Jalapeno, Sweet Banana, Super Chili

Summer Squash
Yum! Summer squash sowing in June will lead to fresh squash and zucchini in July and August.
Suggested Varieties: Cocozelle, Waltham Butternut

Tomatoes
The most popular garden vegetable. Growing tomatoes is not only fun but treats you to some of the best tasting fruits in the world. Tomatoes come in many colors, shapes, taste, and sizes. Grow a few varieties every year to find your favorites!
Suggested variety: Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Roma, Sweetie, Heirloom Blend

May

Finally warm temperatures are here to stay and you don't have to worry about that frost. You may think it's too late to grow all your favorite vegetables from seed but warm May temperatures have made the soil perfect for sowing seeds. Warm soil will allow for fast germination and growing plants. Good choices are summertime kitchen garden staples like squash, beans, cucumbers and melons.

Beans:
Start planting both bush and pole beans now that the soil and air are warmed up. Try a continual 7-10 day sowing of different varieties. This will give you continual bean crops and not one large harvest with wasted crop.
Suggested variety: Contender, Kentucky Wonder, Topcrop

Beets
Sow beets now for a fast, early summer treat.
Suggested Varieties: Detroit Dark Red

Cabbage
Cabbage is one of the easier plants to grow in the garden. Select a variety that is right for your location (size and maturity length). Be sure to fertilize and water when cabbage head begins to form.
Suggested variety: Premium Late Flat Dutch, Golden Acre, Michihili

Carrots
Planting carrots by mid-July yields a fall crop that will keep in the garden until used.
Suggested variety: Little Finger, Scarlet Nantes

Corn
One of the most rewarding and fast growing crops to grow. Corn is delicious when cooked only minutes after being pulled off the stalk. Try a small plot of corn, working your way to a large field of several varieties.
Suggested variety: Peaches and Cream, Incredible, Sugar Buns

Cucumbers
Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Vine cucumbers can be the best tasting but need far more space than bush varieties.
Suggest variety: Spacemaster 80, Muncher, Marketmore 76

Herbs:
Plant heat loving herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage.
Suggested varieties: Italian Basil, Greek Oregano, Dill

Melons
Melons are some of the most rewarding plants to grow. Great for hot, long summers. A staple for summer picnics and family fun.
Suggested variety: Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet, Hales Best

Peppers
Fresh, crisp peppers are a garden favorite. Peppers take up little space and can produce high yields when planted close together. Plant as many different varieties as possible. They come small, big, hot, mild, and an array of different colors. Start seeds indoors for best results.
Suggested variety: California Wonder, Early Jalapeno, Sweet Banana, Super Chili

Summer Squash
Yum! Summer squash sowing in June will lead to fresh squash and zucchini in July and August.
Suggested Varieties: Cocozelle, Waltham Butternut

Tomatoes
The most popular garden vegetable. Growing tomatoes is not only fun but treats you to some of the best tasting fruits in the world. Tomatoes come in many colors, shapes, taste, and sizes. Grow a few varieties every year to find your favorites! You may want to think about buy transplants in May.
Suggested variety: Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Roma, Sweetie, Heirloom Blend

June

Most fruiting plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants should already be in the ground. Many vegetables though will grow and produce even more quickly from seed planted in early summer when the soil is well warmed up and teeming with life.

Beans:
Beans are great for a June planting. Fast growing in warm soil will give you a crop in as little as 35 days with some varieties.
Suggested variety: Contender, Kentucky Wonder, Topcrop

Beets
Sow beets now for a fast, mid-summer treat.
Suggested Varieties: Detroit Dark Red

Cabbage
Cabbage is one of the easier plants to grow in the garden. Select a variety that is right for your location (size and maturity length). Be sure to fertilize and water when cabbage head begins to form.
Suggested variety: Premium Late Flat Dutch, Golden Acre, Michihili

Carrots
Planting carrots by mid-June yields a late summer crop that will keep in the garden until used.
Suggested variety: Little Finger, Scarlet Nantes

Corn
One of the most rewarding and fast growing crops to grow. Corn is delicious when cooked only minutes after being pulled off the stalk. Try a small plot of corn, working your way to a large field of several varieties.
Suggested variety: Peaches and Cream, Incredible, Sugar Buns

Cucumbers
Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Vine cucumbers can be the best tasting but need far more space than bush varieties.
Suggest variety: Spacemaster 80, Muncher, Marketmore 76

Herbs:
Plant heat loving herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage.
Suggested varieties: Italian Basil, Greek Oregano, Dill

Melons
Melons are some of the most rewarding plants to grow. Great for hot, long summers. A staple for summer picnics and family fun.
Suggested variety: Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet, Hales Best

Peas
Green peas and sugar peas are good to plant in July, and will produce a great summer crop of fresh, crisp peas.
Suggested variety: Sugar Ann, Oregon Giant

Summer Squash
Yum! Summer squash sowing in June will lead to fresh squash and zucchini in July and August.
Suggested Varieties: Cocozelle, Waltham Butternut

July

There are still some great crops that can be planted that will keep your garden pumping out vegetables well into the fall.

Beans:
Start planting both bush and pole beans now that the soil and air are warmed up. Try a continual 7-10 day sowing of different varieties. This will give you continual bean crops and not one large harvest with wasted crop.
Suggested variety: Contender, Kentucky Wonder, Topcrop

Broccoli
Broccoli can be planted in the fall to produce a crop well into November.
Suggested variety: Calabrese

Carrots
Planting carrots by mid-July yields a fall crop that will keep in the garden until used.
Suggested variety: Scarlet Nantes

Corn
One of the most rewarding and fast growing crops to grow. Corn is delicious when cooked only minutes after being pulled off the stalk. Try a small plot of corn, working your way to a large field of several varieties. Last practical date to plant any corn variety is the first week in July. Must plant an early maturing corn variety.
Suggested variety: Bodacious, Sugar Buns, Early Golden Bantam

Cucumbers
Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Vine cucumbers can be the best tasting but need far more space than bush varieties.
Suggest variety: Spacemaster 80, Muncher, Marketmore 76

Kale
Planting kale mid-July through mid-August will yield an excellent harvest in the fall and winter.
Suggested variety: Dwarf Blue


August

August is an ideal time to plant seeds for a second gardening season that can be as productive as your major early spring plantings. Late summer is the time to plant these vegetables and herbs.

Beans:
Start planting both bush and pole beans now that the soil and air are warmed up. Try a continual 7-10 day sowing of different varieties. This will give you continual bean crops and not one large harvest with wasted crop. Early August is the last practical sowing date.
Suggested variety: Contender, Kentucky Wonder, Topcrop

Cucumbers
Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Vine cucumbers can be the best tasting but need far more space than bush varieties.
Suggest variety: Spacemaster 80, Muncher, Marketmore 76

Kale
Planting kale mid-July through mid-August will yield an excellent harvest in the fall and winter.
Suggested variety: Dwarf Blue

Lettuce
Sow lettuce in August for a fall crop. Try growing early harvest varieties that will produce a harvest before cold weather rolls in.
Suggested Varieties: Buttercrunch, Salad Bowl

Peas
Green peas and sugar peas are good to plant in August, and will produce a moderate fall harvest.
Suggested variety: Sugar Ann

Radish
A quick and easy vegetable to grow. Plant now and you can have them ready in 30 days.
Suggested variety: Cherry Belle

Spinach
Spinach is more of a cool weather vegetable and is great to grow in August.
Suggested variety: Bloomsdale, Samish

September

Although September marks the beginning of fall, there are still a few fast growing vegetables that can be planted this month and be harvested before the first frost in most gardening zones. Remember to keep your soil warm by removing all mulch and maybe try using a plastic sheet to trap heat into the soil. Try these vegetables below and you can still take advantage of your garden this fall.

Kale
Planting kale mid-July through mid-September will yield an excellent harvest in the fall and winter.
Suggested variety: Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch

Lettuce
Sow lettuce late summer for a fall crop. Grow fast maturing varieties.
Suggested Varieties: Buttercrunch

Radish
A quick and easy vegetable to grow. Plant now and you can have them ready in 30 days.
Suggested variety: Cherry Belle

Spinach
Spinach is more of a cool weather vegetable and is great to grow in September.
Suggested variety: Bloomsdale, Olympia Hybrid, Samish


October

Fall is here and many vegetables don't have enough time to develop before your first frost. There are still a few vegetables that can be planted in October.

Blueberries
Fall is the perfect time to plant blueberry plants. Planting in the fall will allow for good root growth and early growth this coming spring.
Suggested variety: Blueberry Bluecrop

Broccoli
If you live in a warmer climate and can find a quick growing Broccoli variety you can harvest well into November.
Suggested variety: Calabrese

Garlic
Garlic is a vegetable that can be planted in the fall for a larger and earlier harvest this coming spring.
Suggested variety: Italian Garlic

Herbs
Herbs are defiantly the most popular indoor plant to grow throughout the winter months. Try your hand at these 5 most popular herbs. Also check out the Urban Farmer Herb Kit
Suggested variety: Basil, Chives, Oregano, Parsley, Thyme


November

Don't be sad, you can still grow a lot of different plants inside. This is a great time of the year to clone some of your outside plants or grow them from seed indoors. Grow herbs on the window seal or try your luck at growing some coleus plants from seed!

Herbs
Herbs are defiantly the most popular indoor plant to grow throughout the winter months. Try your hand at these 5 most popular herbs. Also check out the Urban Farmer Herb Kit
Suggested variety: Basil, Chives, Oregano, Parsley, Thyme

Coleus
A great indoor or outdoor plant. A great colorful plant that can be a center piece around the house. A fun plant to start from seed and watch it grow over the years
Suggested variety: Coleus

Vegetables
If you live in some warmer climates it is a perfect time to plant vegetables. Try some of the cool weather vegetables that can survive now that the summer heat is over.
Suggest variety: Lettuce, Radish, Spinach, Broccoli, Carrots

December

It's time for the garden seed catalogs to arrive! Start planning your garden wherever you live. Try growing some fresh herbs inside on your kitchen window seal.

Herbs
Herbs are defiantly the most popular indoor plant to grow throughout the winter months. Try your hand at these 5 most popular herbs. Also check out the Urban Farmer Herb Kit
Suggested variety: Basil, Chives, Oregano, Parsley, Thyme

Coleus
A great indoor or outdoor plant. A great colorful plant that can be a center piece around the house. A fun plant to start from seed and watch it grow over the years
Suggested variety: Coleus

Vegetables
If you live in some warmer climates it is a perfect time to plant vegetables. Try some of the cool weather vegetables that can survive now that the summer heat is over.
Suggest variety: Lettuce, Radish, Spinach, Broccoli, Carrots

To Green or Not to Green...

I am in a moral pickle and I need some advice. Well, I don’t really need advice; I know what I should do, but it’s not what I want to do. More specifically it’s not what Katrina wants to do.

You see I have this car: this beautiful, fast German car made by a quaint little company calledBavarian Motor Works. You may have heard of them.

This car is by far the sexiest, most luxurious thing I have ever owned (Since I don’t own Katrina, she doesn’t count) and whether I like to admit it or not, this car fills a need (or desire or hole… something) inside of me.

When I drive this car, I feel thin and beautiful (a stretch, I know), successful and maybe a little bit admired. This car reminds me of how far I’ve come and from where and it is also the only thing of significant value that I have ever purchased entirely on my own with no help from anyone else (spouse included). I qualified for the loan by myself, have made all of the payments myself and picked it out myself. This is quite an accomplishment for a gal who could barely hold down a job seventeen years ago.

The irony is that this car represents everything that I once abhorred and swore I would never be a part of.

You see, my folks were part of the Silent Generation right on the cusp of the Baby Boomers. Technically, my dad is a boomer because he is two years younger than my mom.

They both grew up in families of three girls and one boy. My dad is the oldest of his brood and my mom is the middle girl with her brother as the baby.

They both grew up in working class families: My maternal grandpa was a mechanic and my paternal grandpa was a truck driver/ rocket mechanic. My dad’s family moved all over hell’s half acre like gypsies and my mom’s family stayed put in the same house until her father died when she was nearly thirty.

Both sets of my grandparents lived through the depression, albeit as children or teenagers, but they remembered the struggles of the time and they all vowed that their children would never live through the struggles that they had to. They also lived through a world war with food rations and Victory Gardens, so they prescribed to the motto: use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

Many SGers and BBers grew up with hand-me-downs and handmade clothes, just like my parents. They shared rooms, chores and responsibilities and their parents hammered home the work ethic that made the baby boomers the ‘greatest generation’.

The Boomers Generation was the generation with the highest level of education and the lowest rate of poverty in the modern world (1750-2010). With the maturity of the BB’s we saw the coining and recognizable usage of the phrase “Conspicuous Consumption”. The last fortyish years have seen a generation of people who grew up with little but found nearly endless opportunity at their doorsteps.

Please note that I realize that I am somewhat generalizing an entire age group and I don’t mean to eliminate the margins… I realize that the latter half of the past century saw it’s fair share of hard times and folks who probably don’t feel like they were offered unlimited opportunities but in general (the whole idea of generalizing in the first place) there was more widespread industrial, educational and technological opportunity for wealth then ever before seen in the modern world.

With that being said, my folks we some of the fortunate ones. My dad and mom both worked hard and sacrificed for our family and our future; and while there were hard times that I vaguely remember as a young child, most of my formative years were spent in relative luxury. My dad is an oil man (ironic, isn’t it?) so he made good on the promise of the American Dream.

Growing up, we lived a few doors down from the country club and our house, which I didn’t realize until I took my first girlfriend to visit, was larger than at least three of the houses she grew up in. After living in a rat-shit apartment in Mobile, Alabama; coming home was quite the wake-up call for me. I had really taken much for granted before I set out on my own.

The home my dad lives in now sits on I’d guess an acre and has an eight car garage and nearly 8000 square feet. It is located in an area that was once the destination for Housonians known as the Woodlands. It is certainly a testament to both hard work and a little bit of luck.

Rest assured that all eight of those garage bays are filled and in fact, one vehicle is actually stored off-site since I believe his wife is not fond of the 1976 Ford Econoline van in mint condition that he bought when my now thirty-seven year old countenance was barely a toddler of two. She is often defensive about the fact that he had fifty years worth of life already lived before they met and married and she does her best to eliminate reminders of the PT era (Pre-Tutti).

In addition to the van, his fleet consists of: a 2009 BMW 325C convertible, a Jeep Wrangler, a Yukon XL, a King Ranch 350 dually, a Lincoln Towncar , a 1965 Ford Galaxie 1500 Convertible and a Honda 1800. I think I’m missing one but I can’t remember which.

In spite of all of this luxury and success, my dad’s dedication to hard work cost him a marriage, being involved in his daughter’s formative years and ultimately his own happiness. He lives but a mask of the life he could lead and I know that he hides behind his lack of emotion to keep his continuing feelings of inadequacy at bay. He feels that his only worth is in his ability to work and provide income.

Because of his desire to overcompensate, I never wanted for anything and was greatly, if unintentionally, spoiled. When I struck out on my own, I had less than no idea about how to care for myself and faced greater than my share of challenges when it came to holding down a job, paying bills and saving money. I didn’t even know how to do laundry, clean up after myself of do my own laundry because we had a maid and a gardener and a mom who took care of that. Learning to function as something other that a spoiled-rotten brat took a long time. Sometimes it still does.

Because of this, I have always sought to distance myself from the trappings of wealth (I did a wonderful job for many years- just ask Katrina). As I grew older, the living from hand to mouth and paycheck to paycheck got a little old so I seized opportunity when it arose to provide a better future for my family (much like my folks did). While basking in my success at last, I also got caught up in the same mindset that holds my dad hostage. The fatalistic American pastime of “Keeping Up With The Joneses”, although to a lesser extent.

We bought two new cars, put the house on the market for something bigger and bought all of the right clothes, shoes and accessories (for the lesbian scene, anyway).

Then I looked around at my darling little house that was too small for all of my stuff and thought,”Why not get rid of all the stuff?”

So that’s what we did… We got rid of the crap that was weighing us down and got back to basics. We got rid of the $40,000 Honda Accord Hybrid, started gardening again, got into a more simplistic way of living. We started saving money, paying off bills and planning for the future.

But one little scrap of affluence remains… We keep justifying reasons to keep it:

1. It’s affordable- after paying $16K in cash as a down payment, I owe less than it’s currently worth and make payments less than a friend pays for her Hyundai.

2. It’s all wheel drive- excellent for the nasty Utah winters

3. It’s safe- Doesn’t our family’s safety come first???

4. It’s reliable- Bavarian ingenuity at it’s finest

5. It’s practical- everyone carries bales of hay in the trunk of their beemers, right?

6. It’s green- this is a gray area. Yes, it uses synthetic oil that is 100% recyclable and only needs to be changed every 15,000 miles (thousand, not hundred); it’s manufactured with very little waste, nearly all of which is recycled and, as evidenced by the sheer number of old beemers still around, lasts forever. But when a car responds to a gas pedal like this car responds to a gas pedal, fuel consumption becomes a bit questionable. This is also evident in the fact that I lived for thirty –five years on this earth without acquiring a single traffic ticket and in the two years since buying this car, I have managed to rack up and impressive FOUR!

So now I want to live life more simply and depend less on the almighty dollar to fulfill the empty little pockets in my soul. I want to live and laugh and love for more often than I work, worry and wait.

I want to travel and eat and swim and play. I want to make things grow and I want to create useful things.

I want to learn and share and be free of the fetters that bind so many Americans in chains that they can’t even see or feel.

Now I need to convince Katrina that her journey is more important than her stats whist getting there (and in her case, how fast she gets there while the stereo kills the few remaining audio nerve receptors left in her skull).

Mark Twain once said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

At the end of the journey what’s more important, the car you drove or where you drove it?