The Garden

I’ve tried this before, years ago, out back. The results were less than stellar. After a few years of battling deer, other critters, lack of sun, and too much rain, we gave up the idea of a vegetable garden. Then, last summer, my mom brought me some strawberry plants. I absentmindedly let them languish for a couple weeks and then, without much hope, I planted them along the back fence in the yard attached to our house. This spring, they were back two-fold. And garden fever bit me.

Last Saturday morning things got real because I bought 4 cherry tomato plants after work at the co-op. So, my husband dragged out the old dog pen fencing and hooked it up to our yard fence, creating a 24 ft by 8 ft enclosure. I went about cutting up cardboard boxes to cover the grass and ordering organic gardening dirt. (Except that when I did the ordering, I thought the dog fence sections were 6 feet wide, and so I ended up 2 yards shy of what we really needed. Oops.) On Tuesday, the dirt was dumped outside the fence, a bit of a hike from the garden. With no wheelbarrow, my husband suggested that I use the wagon and a big tub to start things moving.

Wednesday morning, I got started. After only three loads, I thought I might die from overexertion.

And then my mom and step-dad showed up with a wheelbarrow for my husband as an early Father’s Day present. Yay!

I celebrated Thursday morning by picking up a bunch of seedlings at the co-op. Having a couple flats of beautiful vegetable plants just waiting for their new home to be ready was serious motivation. By Thursday evening, my husband had moved a third of the dirt pile into place.

All those plants got me to thinking that I probably needed a plan. Do certain plants like to be near each other? Are there plants that don’t do well together? Is it true that marigolds deter deer, and some sort of tomato bug? I googled, and I scribbled until I had everything arranged on paper. (Click it for a better view)

On Friday, both of us accompanied our fifth-grader on a field trip to the Bronx zoo, so nothing happened in the garden except a little watering of my waiting babies.

On Saturday morning my husband resumed moving dirt and I started planting. He notified me that there would not be enough dirt (something he had mentioned about five minutes after he initially saw the pile, and I pooh-pooh’d him, blush). That was when I realized that those fence sections were actually 8 ft long.

Sunday was like “groundhog day”, and we both did it all over again until it was done. Well, as done as it can be when we are still short 2 yards of dirt. Friends came over to BBQ in the afternoon, and that made the final hours of work much more tolerable.

After all the planting was done, I needed a big watering can with a sunflower shaped spout, so as not to overwhelm the plants before they had the chance to take root. Somewhere along the years, ours disappeared so off to Walmart I went with my husband’s buddy ‘K’ for company. Watering cans must be a hot commodity because they were sold-out, as was Home Depot. K suggested a fancy hose head that has a mist setting, and the problem was solved.

After returning home and eating dinner, I ran out to water my loves. And to my shock and utter horror I saw this ↓↓

A chipmunk had moved in. Just. like. that. I poked the hole with a stick, and then filled it in with dirt. He and I went back and forth a few times, until I finally gave up. On Monday I will be off to the farm store for teeny-weeny chicken wire to wrap around the entire fence. Cross your fingers for me that I win the critter battle.

I am really excited about my garden, can ya tell? My paternal grandmother was an incredible gardener. For years she had acres of fruits and vegetables she tended. Well into her eighties she was out there every morning in her camouflage jumpsuit and straw hat working her magic. I hope some of her spirit flutters into my garden. I know she would be happy to see me trying to carry on what she was so gifted at.

And on a more practical level, my kids are going to be thrilled that they will have all their favorite vegies to eat throughout the summer and into the fall. (Was that sarcasm?)