The gardening experience can be compared to taking a road trip. There is planning involved, details to be worked out, time involved in the actual trip, surprises along the way, and a vision for the final destination.

 

Every journey begins with a plan. Late nights spent gawking at seed catalogs and recipe books led to dreams of standing in a bright, sunny garden taking a bite from a tomato pulled from the vine, not waiting to get the salt and pepper. The reality of the dream was brought back to earth, literally, when we were asked to sample the soil in the early stage of our class. At first, this task seemed overwhelming and required several readings of the instructions. Finally, I approached my plot with a trowel and got my hands dirty, coming up with a specimento send off to the  lab.

 

Next up was row layout, which I tried not to overthink, simply putting the tomatoes nearest the water spigot. The plan on paper never exactly lined up with the actual placement of plants but it turned out okay in the end. We ended up planting a crop we didn’t originally think of, using the starts of sweet potatoes my friend gave me and can’t wait to see how they turn out. Enthusiasm probably caused us to squeeze too many plants into the confines of the excellent fence Kara and Drew built us but we are still learning.

 

We have had many surprises along the way, both good and bad. An excellent surprise was the appearance of a very healthy although unexpected black raspberry bush. Bought for a few dollars on a clearance rack last fall, we threw it in the ground and forgot all about it. Maybe we even ran over it with the rototiller. But we were surprised to see massive greenery near the corner of the house near the fence. We thought it was a prolific weed with nasty stickers and were shocked to see pretty blooms before we remembered the orphan plant from the previous fall. We will need to relocate the bush that spilled over to the hydrangea but for now we are getting sweet berries as large as your thumb.

 

A not so pleasant surprise is the tomato worms intermittently found hidden along the stalks and leaves of our tomatoes. What ugly critters! And so destructive if not found early. Further, one of our “worms” had a parasite of it’s own: a back full of eggs! I had to look up this curiosity and found that wasps lay eggs on their backs which kills the ugly worm and a new generation of wasps are born to invade more tomato worms, thus completing the circle of life.

 

We have not yet arrived at our final destination but as of this August day we are well on our way. We are getting a few ripe tomatoes, but have plenty of green ones awaiting. The bell peppers were crispy and juicy and have been a winner for stuffed green peppers. We have had a bumper crop of cucumbers for salads and pickling. The sweet potatoes are vining and we are struggling to find enough space for them to stretch out. I tried a new recipe for zucchini cake which is very easy and good. The summer squash is good when breaded and fried or as a casserole. The onions are still in the ground and getting bigger all the time. Tenderette green beans have been the best, stringless, crisp and delicious. I’m waiting anxiously for the butternut squash. The road trip goes on despite weather and bumps in the road. The journey has not always been smooth but worth the time and effort.