Wednesday, April 19, 2006

The Gardening Has Begun

I am amazed at how old I feel after two evenings in the garden!

Monday, I had planned to mow at least my backyard as it is now a hay field but it was 100 degrees out when I got home from work. So, I ate some dinner and went out to work in my garden beds instead.

My brand new Texas Tomato Cages had arrived with the mail so I wanted to get them stuck in the ground protecting my week old tomato plants. (Week old meaning they've been in the ground for a week.) My friend Kim had given me two bags, 40 lbs each, of expanded shale. I needed to dig that in before fixing the tomato cages.

By the way, these tomato cages are colossal! They're 6 feet tall and 2 feet in diameter. They have 4 legs that stick in the ground. They are in two parts and fold flat when not in use. Way cool, these tomato cages.

So, I hefted the two bags to the back. Then, hefted two bags of pecan shell mulch to the back. I spread the shale out--dividing the two bags between my four beds. Then it was just me and the hoe. I was only able to get two of the beds (the ones with the tomatoes) dug in the other two would just have to wait till Tuesday.

I spread a good thick layer of pecan shells around each tomato plant. This should help the tomatoes to not dry out and protect the leaves when either God or I water from splashing dirt, etc. I put the cages out and stood back and admired my work--Beautiful!

Yesterday (Tuesday), I stopped by the feed store for dog and chicken food before going to work. I, of course bought plants for the garden and some seeds. I got jalapenos, bell pepper, one more tomato, marigolds, verbena, and squash--those were the plants. The seeds were for green beans and okra.

When I got home last night, I dug the shale into the other two beds then set about planting plants and seeds. If everything produces the way I dream, we'll be rolling in fresh vegetables in just a few weeks--well more like a couple of months but woo hoo! Can't you just taste that fried okra with some pinto beans and cornbread, with sliced tomato and onion? That is a feast worthy of Heaven--and will probably be in Heaven when we get there!

1 comment:

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Sounds like a little bit of heaven on earth to me. I love to garden, both flowers and vegetables, but I have a tiny apartment, no garden space, and I have severe arthritis, so I can't indulge my green thumb every spring any longer. There's nothing like eating the first tomato of the season from your own plants. Love those fresh garden veggies, too....All of them! :)