I am the neophyte suburban micro-farmer whom our friend Cera has been advising. Thanks, Cera.
It is a very relaxing hobby and one that affords good, much-needed exercise, and time out in the fresh air and sun. Digging a foot-deep sunken garden bed is more work than it sounds like it would be! So far I have put out blackberry bushes, four tomato plants in a raised self-watering bed, and I have five more tomato plants (grown from seed, Rutgers variety) and seven cayenne pepper plants to put out. I have 20 pounds of dry cat food that are sitting in my garage because our ever-vigilant HOA, that has never seen a functional, practical, enjoyable human activity they didn't want to stamp out, has put a fatwa on feeding feral animals. I read online that it makes excellent fertilizer, so I am thinking of digging up another few square feet, laying plastic with holes cut in it (the soil is pure sand and water just percolates straight through it), laying the cat food, getting some more potting mix to cover it with, and planting more vegetables. I even have four speaker boxes --- the speakers are very old and have died --- that I may retrofit into raised beds.
I feel like Oliver Douglas on Green Acres growing corn in flower pots on his Manhattan balcony. Urban farming has come a long way since then. I have nobody to make me "hotscakes", but on the other hand, I don't have a Mr Haney trying to mulct me of my pension.
A nice respite both from the theological wars and the posterior-over-teakettle that our society has become in these days of pestilence.