My name is Matt. I was born in the south, raised in Pennsylvania, and about ten years ago made my way to a little town just south of Austin, Texas (zone 8b.) And it feels like home. Like the bumper sticker says, “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as soon as I could.”

I’m married to a Texas native and have two daughters (ages 17 and 3), a dog, six goldfish (give or take), and too many cats on two acres.

In 2007, my wife talked me into building two small raised garden boxes for herbs and a couple of tomatoes. Somehow between building those first beds and tasting the first homegrown tomato, I caught a bad case of gardening. In late 2008 I started digging my new 1120 square foot garden.

This blog shares my adventures, my failed attempts, and my successes in learning to slow down, grow some of our own food, and live a little closer to the dirt.

About the Windmill:

The decorative windmill that you see in many of the pictures is about eight feet tall and was made by my wife’s grandfather. It’s been in the same spot for the last 30 years, so I built the garden around it. You don’t mess with that kind of family history.

Comments or Questions?

You can email me at matt@closertothedirt.com or follow me on Twitter @GnomeRanger.