I’m gearing up, friends. It’s March. It’s raining. Right now, it’s raining! It hasn’t done that since…well, we’ve probably gotten a few drops here and there in the last three months, but I don’t think we’ve had real rain. And I’m trying to tell myself that the government sending me $1400 is not a good reason to order 7 raised bed kits.
Do I even know where I would PUT seven raised beds? No! So I’m trying to keep it reasonable.
Trying. Because I know that I need to. I know me. Around about May, maybe early June, I know I’ll be sick of gardening, but you can’t (well, I can’t) just let plants die when you don’t feel like taking care of them.
2020 as Gardening Metaphor–It Started Out So Well! And Then…
Last year didn’t go so well. I lost all my zucchini, carrots, basil, peppers–not a one got far enough to give me any food. My tomatoes though–oh, I love tomatoes. I think my plants knew that. Four of my tomato plants survived all summer and into fall. Three of them produced one to three tiny tomatoes each. One of them…
One of my tomato plants really tried, y’all. But there was a squirrel who got all the early ones, and then–I don’t know, maybe my hawk neighbor got the squirrel? Suddenly that one plant had like, a dozen tomatoes. Little green…and then not so little, but still green, and the frost was coming but they were still green…and every time I bumped the plant, covering it for cold protection, one or two little ones would fall off, and I would mourn…but then I got smart.
When one fell off, I brought it in the house to ripen. Hey, if it was too young to ever ripen, no loss, but if it could…? Mmm, tomato heaven.
The little ones didn’t ripen, and when they started to shrivel, I tossed them. But I kept bringing them in, and then when we got several days of freezing weather, I brought them all in. I stuck them in a bowl on the counter with a banana, and put a bag over them.
It took–well, I didn’t keep track, but it seemed like months. When the banana got too brown, I’d use it for something, and put another in there. And eventually, finally… I got a tomato sandwich. Possibly the best tomato sandwich in the history of the world…omg, it was so good.
2021 and the Year of Trying Again
So here we go again. I’ve got tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini already sprouted. Look at these gorgeous babies!
Eventually I’m going to plant kale, basil, and cilantro. Sunflower for shade, and marigolds to help drive away plant-eating bugs. I’m also planning insect netting this year! And shade. I’ve found a local-ish guru to follow. (It’s hotter where she lives, with even less rain, so I can trust her on what can survive here!)
Let’s see what I get this year.
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