Getting Dirty

We donʻt always manage to get a garden in but when we do its almost tradition to not plant until Memorial Day.  I suppose thatʻs because its not unheard of to get snow in May where we live and its pretty common to get frost during the night in May.  Its only been a couple of weeks since we last had frost at our house and some flowers Heidlebeere planted suffered from it; they died. Thus, our serious gardening usually happens on Memorial Day weekend or later.  But you canʻt wait too long after Memorial Day because the growing season is not so very long at our house either.  Its not uncommon to be getting frost in September.  So we pick our plants carefully and get them in timely.

One of Brombeereʻs favorite things to grow is tomatoes. Last year we did get some tomatoes in (check here for more on that) and they were yummy.  This year, though, we got quite a few more. We didnʻt count them but I wouldnʻt be surprised if there were a couple dozen.  Because of the short growing season we pretty much have to buy them as plants - not enough time to start them from seed.  Though I suppose we could start them indoors.  But then weʻd have to figure out where to put them so they werenʻt in the way.  Maybe some year we could do a greenhouse.  My sister did that a year or two ago and quite likes having it.  She lives where the growing season is actually shorter than where we live.

Anyway, most of the tomatoes we got are nice, big ones but Brombeere did get some cherry tomatoes for me - I like them in salads.

She also got a few plants of butternut squash, just for me.  Sheʻs nice to me that way.  Theyʻre out in the middle of our little garden plot - off away from the tomatoes.  They need a little more room because they spread out quite a bit.  Iʻm really hoping they do well and produce a lot.  I really like butternut squash

So now it will be a contest to see if we can keep ahead of the weeds to get as much as the rabbits will let us.  Last year we planted several green bean plants but the rabbits hit them pretty hard and we didnʻt get very many.  If they do that again this year weʻll probably have to get some fencing for around the garden.  Weʻve resisted doing that because it makes getting in and out of the garden a little harder.  But a low fence would probably be workable and it would be better than losing so much to the vermin.

Gardening can also be therapeutic.  Brombeere said later that of all the things she did that day she most enjoyed playing in the dirt.  Lots of fun!  And one real nice thing that happened was that within an hour of when she finished planting the rain started and rained quite a bit the rest of the day.  Good for the garden!