Saturday was my birthday, and my parents came down from West Virginia to spend the weekend with us. They brought with them a collection of gardening tools, including a tiller, this crazy ground-chewing contraption that made prepping the garden a million times easier than it would have otherwise been. When Jesse and I planted a large flower bed in our backyard (we call it “the kidney bean” because of its shape), all we had was a dull shovel, and it took several evenings of hard work to get the spot dug up. I used an old steak knife to cut into the stubborn grass, and Jesse came behind me with the shovel. I’m sure we made quite a funny sight.
But not this time. Saturday morning we were all up early (Mom and Dad much earlier than Jesse and I–Dad had his truck washed and nearly dry before I dragged myself out of bed). Last week I went to every plant-selling place around town, comparing prices and plant appearances. I had a collection of little plants waiting for us outside.
Here’s what we planted:
- Tomatoes (way more than we will ever eat, assuming I don’t kill any of the plants)
- Yellow onions
- Shallots
- Zucchini
- Squash
- Cucumber
- Red and yellow peppers
- Herbs: Basil (regular and “Thai basil,” which I’m not entirely sure about, but should be interesting!), thyme, rosemary, oregano, mint, cilantro, parsley, sage, chives
- We also put out several marigolds, as they’re supposed to repel a number of garden nasties
In the corners of our yard, we planted cantaloupe and watermelon, as they will apparently be vine-y and ridiculous and can’t play with the other plants in the garden.
By early afternoon, we had everything in the ground. We cleaned up and went out for barbeque, devouring plates of pork and cole slaw, collard greens and green beans, and crispy hush puppies, with bowls of banana pudding for dessert.
My grandfathers were both gardeners, and I still remember my mother’s father out in his garden, which took up almost the whole backyard. Everything seemed so healthy, so exuberantly alive. I have a lot to live up to, and I must say my prospects aren’t quite so good. Our backyard grass is a fairly sad sight, even though the dirt where we put the garden seemed nice and rich. And I want to make this as organic as possible, so that’s bound to limit how big my plants will get. I’m sure our little garden will be a far cry from my grandfather’s impressive backyard productions, but at least there’s something to strive for. Last week as I was buying plants, I stopped by the Arboretum. There are Plant Experts (not sure what they’re really called) there who will answer any question you might have. A white-haired man was finishing his lunch when I came in, and when he found out I was planning a garden, he said, “You’ll have fun,” and told me to keep a journal, to take notes, to make sure I gave the plants enough water. And, he said, to remember gardening is a learning process.
Here goes nothing.
The tiller.
The plants before planting.
There’s nothing like getting your hands dirty in a garden.
Separating the shallots.
All done! Dad gets to relax.
10 Comments
I am so excited for you! Please do keep a journal and share your insights. We missed spring planting season, so we will have to wait until fall. Here in FL it’s already summer and 90 degrees every day. It’s very exciting that you get to plant right in the ground. Since we have such sandy soil, we have been told to try box gardening. Basically, we’ll make 4×4 boxes and fill them with actual good soil and then plant our vegetables.
For now, we are finishing renovations on the enclosed porch. We put in baseboards last weekend (well, Pete did; I mostly watched). Next is the deck, then stucco on the outside of the porch. We are also getting a new front door put in and our driveway finished and hopefully expanded. For some reason, in the 50s, they only paved half of the driveways. The half by the street is dirt. Weird. Those two things we are actually paying people to do. I don’t think our talents extend to door hanging.
Best of luck on your garden! Will you mail me a tomato from your first crop?
My aunt and uncle in California have had great success with raised beds. I’m sure you’ll have good luck with yours in the fall!
Goodness, you guys have been busy at your house. I’ve seen driveways in our neighborhood that are half-paved. Someone told me the neighborhood was started without storm drains running under the driveways, and later they put them in and residents could pay for the lower half of the driveway to be re-paved or choose to have it filled with gravel. Very peculiar indeed.
I love your little garden! Oooh, enjoy the gardening process. And yes, it may take some time to learn it all, but I’m sure google has the answers to many basic issues you could face.
I think my parents did the box gardening – where they “artificially” put in the soil – and they do have some lovely veggies flowing out of it. I’m also hoping to inherit the green thumb. The three plants in my house seem to be doing well, so far so good. I love the picture of dirt in your hands… that is such a wonderful feeling. One day, I hope to have a little garden… and by then, I’m sure you’ll have enough experiences under your belt to dish out some advice!
I’m sure you’ll have a great garden one day! Houseplants are the way to go. I wish we could keep plants indoors, but Oliver eats them. In fact, he got into the office tonight and chewed up some cut roses I just put out on my desk!
That cat…
Our cat eats any plants or flowers we bring into the house, too. And if I bring him outside, he just eats grass the entire time. It must be some nutrient he’s missing from his diet. Which reminds me, are you still doing the homemade cat food?
No, we gave up because it took so long (and cost a fair amount more than store-bought food). We’re feeding them Wellness-brand cat food, which Sabrina recommended to us. They seem to be doing well on it, and my vet (who also practices holistic pet medicine) said that’s what he feeds his cats.
1) I want a ground chewer contraption–lucccccky!
2) You want Thai basil.
3) Buy rice paper and use the Thai basil and mint and cilantro to make summer rolls!
1) It made digging the spot so much easier! If you’re going to do an in-the-ground garden, you’ve got to find someone who owns one, or maybe see if Home Depot (etc.) rents them out.
2) and 3) Awesome! I’m going to try that. I’ve never made summer rolls, or any type of similar roll…exciting!
Oh! How wonderful! I can’t wait to see pictures as the garden progresses.
I, too, love getting my hands dirty with good, clean soil.
There’s something about getting your hands dirty. It’s just really calming for me.