Gardening...again.
Sometime in the Spring of 2001, I awoke in the morning with a strong desire to grow plants. For a person like me at the time, this was as strange as waking up one day wanting to write Babylonian poetry using cuneiform writing, which is to say that I knew nothing about both. (In fact, I may have known more about cuneiform writing than I did about gardening).
Undeterred by my ignorance I went to the local mega store across the street and bought a packet of pepper seeds. I believe they were Anaheim pepper seeds. I also bought a growing tray and a sack of potting soil. I sowed the seeds and eventually I got a bunch of leggy Anaheim pepper plants that grew crowded in containers on the South facing balcony of my apartment.
Later, when I got married, we bought a house with a large yard and I expanded my operation to the point I grew one hundred tomato and pepper plants. By the way, if you want to have any kind of life, do not grow one hundred plants of anything. You will spend your days watering and babying plants.
Then, due to the vicissitudes of life, I stopped growing things suddenly and completely. I even neglected my poor fruit trees for three or four years. For this affront, the plant gods punished me by striking me down with two hear attacks. So there, we are all caught up.
Now, as a way to recover from my heart maladies, I mentioned to my wife that I wanted to return to growing plants. This time however, we have two dogs. One is a large dog who loves to dig moles and gophers out of the ground and in addition, will suffer no plant to live (he ate all my thorn-less blackberry bushes when he was a puppy; all of them!)
I jokingly told my wife that I needed a dog run for my garden and the dogs could have the rest of the yard. A few weeks ago, we got in my truck and drove to one of our Tractor Supply stores and bought one. I got myself a beauty!
I am starting slow. Since it was already well into April, I bought all my plants from a store, except for the basil, oregano, lettuce,radish, and potatoes. When summer comes, this cage will be crowded. Since I bought the plants from a mega store, my selection was limited. I am growing Early Girls, Better Boys, yellow pear cherry tomatoes, black cherry tomatoes, and a couple of Jalapeño plants.
I even bought a couple of flower plants to entice the bees. Oh, and I also bought a hanging strawberry basket because why not?
I fed the fruit trees and pruned their dead limbs for the first time in years as well. I already have tons of Nectarines, Peaches, and Apples.
I have big plans! I am already plotting to extend the cage, doubling its size. I have an old shed whose frame is in very good shape and I intend to turn it into a green house. This time around, I will grow way more flowers. And in case you are wondering, when I bought the cage and re-started growing plants, I had to give my heart rest often but now, my heart drags me up every morning to the cage to check on all the plants.
Thank you for stopping by and come back to see the progress!
Undeterred by my ignorance I went to the local mega store across the street and bought a packet of pepper seeds. I believe they were Anaheim pepper seeds. I also bought a growing tray and a sack of potting soil. I sowed the seeds and eventually I got a bunch of leggy Anaheim pepper plants that grew crowded in containers on the South facing balcony of my apartment.
Later, when I got married, we bought a house with a large yard and I expanded my operation to the point I grew one hundred tomato and pepper plants. By the way, if you want to have any kind of life, do not grow one hundred plants of anything. You will spend your days watering and babying plants.
Then, due to the vicissitudes of life, I stopped growing things suddenly and completely. I even neglected my poor fruit trees for three or four years. For this affront, the plant gods punished me by striking me down with two hear attacks. So there, we are all caught up.
Now, as a way to recover from my heart maladies, I mentioned to my wife that I wanted to return to growing plants. This time however, we have two dogs. One is a large dog who loves to dig moles and gophers out of the ground and in addition, will suffer no plant to live (he ate all my thorn-less blackberry bushes when he was a puppy; all of them!)
I jokingly told my wife that I needed a dog run for my garden and the dogs could have the rest of the yard. A few weeks ago, we got in my truck and drove to one of our Tractor Supply stores and bought one. I got myself a beauty!
I am starting slow. Since it was already well into April, I bought all my plants from a store, except for the basil, oregano, lettuce,radish, and potatoes. When summer comes, this cage will be crowded. Since I bought the plants from a mega store, my selection was limited. I am growing Early Girls, Better Boys, yellow pear cherry tomatoes, black cherry tomatoes, and a couple of Jalapeño plants.
I even bought a couple of flower plants to entice the bees. Oh, and I also bought a hanging strawberry basket because why not?
I fed the fruit trees and pruned their dead limbs for the first time in years as well. I already have tons of Nectarines, Peaches, and Apples.
I have big plans! I am already plotting to extend the cage, doubling its size. I have an old shed whose frame is in very good shape and I intend to turn it into a green house. This time around, I will grow way more flowers. And in case you are wondering, when I bought the cage and re-started growing plants, I had to give my heart rest often but now, my heart drags me up every morning to the cage to check on all the plants.
Thank you for stopping by and come back to see the progress!
First of all, I didn't know you gardened. Secondly, I didn't know you were a writer. And thirdly... I had no idea that you had a blog! I love it. Yours is so much more fun than mine. LOL I love your writing style. And now, I'm dying to see how this all turns out.
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