Thursday, June 12, 2008

Let The Bounty Begin!


Ya'll may remember the blazing success that was my garden last summer. It gave me 8 million or so salmonella-free tomatoes and zucchini as big as my arm, not to mention endless amounts of sweet-smelling basil. Therefore, I'm giving it another go.
This year, I'm sharing my special landlord-made garden box with my favorite neighbors, Tim and Erin. They are from Minnesota, which means they are required by law to be super nice and hardworking.

Here is how it looked on June 7 - full of evil weeds. I pulled every one of them bastards out despite being exhausted from my crazy work week. Geezus but I find weed pulling highly satisfying - instant results but it does smack of ethnic cleansing somewhat. I mean, who am I to decide who should live and who should die? Anyway ...

Being the giver that I am, I tried to help as much as I could ...

The three of us had a ball, planning what yummy goods we wanted and we agreed on pretty much everything: corn, tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, eggplant, mint, basil, cilantro, onions, cucumber and squash. Now, there are three of us hovering over it, assassinating any weed that dare poke it's ugly head.

As the cost of living gets meaner, homespun activities like this aren't just a hobby - it's become more of a necessity. Plus, there is nothing better than coming home after a big adventure and messing around in your own dirt.

Once again, it's good to home. I'm looking forward to a fruitful and vegetable-ful summer here in Denver.

6 comments:

Mrs.X said...

I have the same reaction pulling weeds - a sick sort of satisfaction at taming nature and providing order where there was none, but also of playing God and deciding what does and does not survive. I make a terrible gardner for this reason.

I have seen lots of articles recently about the resurgence of backyard gardens - much like the Victory Gardens from WWII. I think it's wonderful, even if I don't have the requisite thumb - it's not even pale green - to undertake such a noble endeavor.

Can you tell that I am still miffed that my blog's reading level was rated Junior High? Argh!

Anonymous said...

Me me me!!

I'll be first in line for some tomatoes and cukes. The cilantro? Not so much. You can give that icky stuff to HDH or Jeff C.

Heather Clisby said...

Mrs. X: Yes, having a green thumb means you have to be a bit vicious so perhaps you are too kind for this task. And you should definitely ignore that stupid rating system. Occasionally, your writing makes me, like, look things up and stuff. In books. On shelves. Like in olden times.

Kath: Yes, yes, no cilantro for you - I remember. Bring the apples and we'll make a trade.

Elizabeth Glass-Turner said...

Weeding I find refreshing and stress-relieving, but what haunts my dreams is when I have to thin the plants that are coming up. Then I feel all guilty and dirty inside.
Then I have chocolate ice cream and I feel better until the next time I have to play god.

Felicia the Geeky Blogger said...

WOWZER!!! I don't know how you have the energy but I am sure the garden is going to rock!

Heather Clisby said...

Bitty: Wow! Me too! Dirty inside and outside, in my case. Just another example when chocolate is the antidote.

Flea: Oh, I have no energy. Notice how I roped in the neighbors? I'm crafty that way.