How Does My Garden Grow?
Five years ago when we first moved to Tennessee, I attempted to grow a garden. Now, I can remember my mom growing small gardens in our small, Buffalo, NY backyard. There wasn't much space but she always managed to plant some tomatos and even cucumbers if I remember correctly.
I figured with 3 acres of land I could grow one heck of a garden - so as soon as the local Wal-Mart began selling springtime products like seeds and stuff, I purchased one of everything (just about). I quickly learned that Tennessee dirt ...er...clay, can not be prepared for a 60 x 30 garden with a shovel no matter what the Internet says. I went out and rented a roto-tiller and Mike tilled the land. This was going to be great!!
Someone forgot to include WEEDING on the seed packets under INSTRUCTIONS. Have you ever tried to weed a 60 x 30 garden? Me neither. Finally, a deal was struck. After intense negotiations and $300 worth of top, name-brand tennis shoes later, the kids lived up to half the deal and weeded the corn and the tomatos. At that point, my $328 investment had yielded me a dozen tomatoes (not counting the compost pile) and a few ears of corn.
I actually got more tomatoes out of the compost pile the former owners left behind. Go figure.
My husband, (add financial wizard to LEO) figured it cost me about $10 a tomato by the time it was all said and done. That was 4 years ago.
This spring, Mike announced that HE was going to plant the garden and tend to it. Fine by me. He obviously didn't realize how much time is involved. He found a great deal on a used roto-tiller at the local pawn shop and set out to till his space. What a show-off.
I offered my assistance and even some expert advice on what to plant and where to plant it but I was quickly banned from even touching the seeds. The fact that I can kill even silk plants had nothing to do with this, he was just showing off.
Four weeks later, Mike came in with his first harvest. Cucumbers! Did you know that 6 cucmber plants yield enough vegetables to feed a small country? They keep on coming and with them, tomatoes, an acorn squash, 2 pumpkins, a watermelon and even some eggplant!! I TOLD him it would work! Ha!
How he finds the time to weed that monster is beyond me; but he does it. Every week he goes out and even in between days off when he has time and he tends to his precious garden.
The other day he came in and told me to come look at the sunflowers. As I looked out into the garden, I saw these huge, yellow bursts of sunshine staring back at me! They were GORGEOUS! He grew them just for me. Awwww. He's somethin' else I tell ya!
Here is a picture of one of my sunflowers... isn't it a beaut?
I figured with 3 acres of land I could grow one heck of a garden - so as soon as the local Wal-Mart began selling springtime products like seeds and stuff, I purchased one of everything (just about). I quickly learned that Tennessee dirt ...er...clay, can not be prepared for a 60 x 30 garden with a shovel no matter what the Internet says. I went out and rented a roto-tiller and Mike tilled the land. This was going to be great!!
Someone forgot to include WEEDING on the seed packets under INSTRUCTIONS. Have you ever tried to weed a 60 x 30 garden? Me neither. Finally, a deal was struck. After intense negotiations and $300 worth of top, name-brand tennis shoes later, the kids lived up to half the deal and weeded the corn and the tomatos. At that point, my $328 investment had yielded me a dozen tomatoes (not counting the compost pile) and a few ears of corn.
I actually got more tomatoes out of the compost pile the former owners left behind. Go figure.
My husband, (add financial wizard to LEO) figured it cost me about $10 a tomato by the time it was all said and done. That was 4 years ago.
This spring, Mike announced that HE was going to plant the garden and tend to it. Fine by me. He obviously didn't realize how much time is involved. He found a great deal on a used roto-tiller at the local pawn shop and set out to till his space. What a show-off.
I offered my assistance and even some expert advice on what to plant and where to plant it but I was quickly banned from even touching the seeds. The fact that I can kill even silk plants had nothing to do with this, he was just showing off.
Four weeks later, Mike came in with his first harvest. Cucumbers! Did you know that 6 cucmber plants yield enough vegetables to feed a small country? They keep on coming and with them, tomatoes, an acorn squash, 2 pumpkins, a watermelon and even some eggplant!! I TOLD him it would work! Ha!
How he finds the time to weed that monster is beyond me; but he does it. Every week he goes out and even in between days off when he has time and he tends to his precious garden.
The other day he came in and told me to come look at the sunflowers. As I looked out into the garden, I saw these huge, yellow bursts of sunshine staring back at me! They were GORGEOUS! He grew them just for me. Awwww. He's somethin' else I tell ya!
Here is a picture of one of my sunflowers... isn't it a beaut?
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