October 1, 2013

Gardening (Guts and) Glory

The Sailor and I were a little late to the garden scene. By the time we moved and settled in and actually discovered that our complex had a community garden, we were already well into July. 

July is probably not the best time to start anything. Added to that, our raised bed is one of the smallest plots of land I've ever seen in my life. I've had welcome mats that were bigger. 

Nevertheless, I was determined to plant something. My mom used to have a spectacular garden when I was a child, and the Sailor's dad has a grand one growing year-round in the Southern Hemisphere. We figured if anything, this year's garden could be our little experiment to see if green thumbs were genetic.  

So, the Sailor and I forked out a ridiculous amount of money for gardening supplies, dirt and some seedlings. We planted cherry tomatoes, green beans, red peppers, carrots and garlic. Last week I put an onion in and I now have a giant kale plant on my porch waiting to be transplanted (once there's room of course!) 


Amazingly, and despite scorching August sunshine and hard clay ground, our stuff is growing. I've already frozen a bunch of beans, and I'm eating tomatoes like crazy. 

This week, after months of anticipation, I picked my first pepper. 


 And last night, I ate a delightful kale, tomato, bean and pepper stir-fry. (I really didn't care how strange that combo was... I simply wanted to eat something that I grew and picked.) 

The garden has brought me an immense amount of joy... I love going out there in the evening and seeing what bounty is available. 


Until last night. 

I went out to water the garden and tripped on the rustiest, nastiest, thickest piece of wire you ever did see. (And then I promptly checked my immunization record to see when I last had a tetanus shot...) I will spare you photos of my foot, and the wire. But I will put your mind at ease to let you know that while my foot is a shade lighter than the color of that pepper, I have no fear of lock-jaw in my future. 

I skipped the garden tonight and decided to tend to my porch plants instead. So far they seem a little less hazardous.




(Whatever you're planting this month, watch where you step...)

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