So this year is the first time I have had a garden. For the most part I have done it all myself. I did have to borrow a tiller and I did have someone haul away all the rocks and flower bulbs that were in the spot I picked. My garden has turned out better than I ever expected. Other people in my neighborhood have not been so lucky so hopefully I will have an abundance to share with them. With all of the rain, a lot of the gardens were washed away completely. There are only a few homes on my street that were not flooded in the last few weeks. Luckily none of my neighbors had damage to their homes but several people had to park on the street because their driveways were under water.
My garden spot was mounded fairly high to begin with and then I covered the entire garden with mulch to keep down the weeds. This has worked out well with all the rain and I have only had to water one week. God has taken care of the rest, thank you Lord! My vegatables are doing great and Madi has been able to eat two ripened strawberries. And she agreed that the things you grow yourself taste soooo much better that those that you buy in the store. It must be the “labor of love” idea that makes everything taste a little sweeter. This has been a good thing for Madi and I to enjoy together. We both look at the garden first thing in the morning and as soon as we pull in the drive.
I have already written (at least I think I have) that I had two ripened tomatoes already this year. The other night I came home and saw another one ready to be picked. My neighbor came to the fence to greet me and complimented me on my gardening skills. This is the same man that harassed me most of the spring while getting it ready. He pulled up a chair on his side of the fence and had a great time telling me that I was doing it ALL WRONG! This was all in fun and he did have some good advice for me because he is older than dirt! So after he complimented me I gave him my third tomato of the season and you would have thought that I gave him a brick of gold. I made this mans day and in turn it made my day to share something out of my very own garden. I can’t wait until I can load up my basket with fresh veggies to share with my friends and co-workers. I actually found the perfect basket while cleaning Madi’s bedroom and I asked her if she thought it would be good for holding vegetables and she got the biggest smile on her face and said “Momma, that is the perfect job for that basket”.
So last night I was weeding the garden and thinking about next year. What will I plant? What will I do different? And I started wishing that I had planted the cucumber seeds that I bought. So as I was putting all my tools up for the evening I looked at the packet of seeds and realized that you can plant them all the way up until mid-summer. So I grabbed the shovel and planted the entire packet of seeds against the trellis. And now I am so excited because I have another vegetable in the garden! I am hoping that the cucumbers take off like Madi’s gourds have. They have already reached the very top. I am looking forward to using them for craft projects this fall. I have always wanted to try making birdhouses so we should have plenty to use for trial and error. So guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year?
Summer 2008 rocks so far and I hope all of you are having just as much fun!
