Growing love in your garden

Well, our garden is finally, completely in! I say “we” when it was 99% my sister’s effort and sore back while I did school projects and filled out endless pages of application for my internship’s summer programs. I am very excited for our garden this year. With compost lovingly made over the last year by mother nature (with my sister’s help) we will soon have organic tomatoes, peas, corn, beets, beans cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, pumpkins, dill, cilantro, basil and thyme. I suspect there is even more than that, but since I didn’t actually do any planting this year, I can’t be sure. We decided not to grow zucchini. Why, you may ask? Because it multiplies exponentially, grows to the size of a baseball bat overnight, and we still have 3 pounds from last summer in our freezer. It is a wonder and a weed. The last zucchini we pulled off the plant last fall was so large it could seriously have cause harm if you were to swing it at someone or drop it on your foot.

We have a friend who is growing zucchini and has offered to share her excess crop and we will share the excess tomatoes we will inevitably grow. I picked out some heirloom tomato plants from Sky Nursery that I am very excited to try. Tomatoes are another wonder and a weed. Last year we had two tomato plants. They produced so many tomatoes we could not give them away. Literally, I had friends that saw me coming in late August and ran away yelling “No more tomatoes!” I picked out three tomato plants for this year….call me crazy, I know…I actually exercised self control. I really wanted to get 4-5 varieties. This year I have a peach colored heirloom tomato I am anxiously waiting to try as well as a chocolate cherry tomato that is suppose to be super sweet. I don't remember the name of the last tomato plant I picked out, but I do remember it promised to be "your next favorite". Truth be told they are all my favorite. With the exception of my mom, everyone in my family loves tomatoes. My niece eats them like candy.

It may be a long shot, but we are trying watermelon for the second time this year. Hopefully a better spot in the garden with longer direct sunlight will ensure success. Last year we didn’t even see one. Does anyone have the secret to success for growing watermelons in the Northwest?

There is no place like my back yard when the sun is shining and the garden is growing and bursting with potential. It fills my soul and my heart is overflowing with the love our garden brings.