THIS PAST SUMMER, THE IDEA OF THE VEGETABLE GARDEN really took root nationwide. A nod to the very nice P-patch on the front lawn of the White House is certainly deserved, but momentum for the current home-grown movement actually began as a sprout many years ago. We have an innate nature for taking matters into our own hands, literally, during troubling economic times, seeded by the fact that we are a nation of farmers.
In case you missed it, the forecast was that 43 million U.S. households would grow their own vegetables this year. Vegetable seed sales jumped dramatically, city lots have been transformed to edible inner-city paradises and there’s a chance that your neighbor may have dug up the parking strip to grow green beans for dinner, pumpkins for Halloween and cucumbers to preserve for holiday gifts (while crafting tags to say “From the garden of …”).
Well, I’m sad to say, not me.
It’s not that I didn’t give it the ol’ college try. In the spring, my husband and I went to our local big-box store and bought all the fixins. The new cedar frames held such hope and were filled not only with rich soil and compost but great potential.
The fact is the “before” of our garden is much prettier than the “after.” Turns out, I didn’t pick a sunny enough spot, planted some items that weren’t such good choices — and then there were the slugs. Oh, and the rabbit.
I thought I’d be canning with the best of them come harvest time. Visions of tomato sauce bubbling on the stove and filling the kitchen with a sweet scent while I picked herbs for dinner never really materialized.
So much for yes we can-ning. For this year, at least, I can’t.
In case you missed it, the forecast was that 43 million U.S. households would grow their own vegetables this year. Vegetable seed sales jumped dramatically, city lots have been transformed to edible inner-city paradises and there’s a chance that your neighbor may have dug up the parking strip to grow green beans for dinner, pumpkins for Halloween and cucumbers to preserve for holiday gifts (while crafting tags to say “From the garden of …”).
Well, I’m sad to say, not me.It’s not that I didn’t give it the ol’ college try. In the spring, my husband and I went to our local big-box store and bought all the fixins. The new cedar frames held such hope and were filled not only with rich soil and compost but great potential.
The fact is the “before” of our garden is much prettier than the “after.” Turns out, I didn’t pick a sunny enough spot, planted some items that weren’t such good choices — and then there were the slugs. Oh, and the rabbit.
I thought I’d be canning with the best of them come harvest time. Visions of tomato sauce bubbling on the stove and filling the kitchen with a sweet scent while I picked herbs for dinner never really materialized.
So much for yes we can-ning. For this year, at least, I can’t.
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