Finally, I have gently patted some baby plants into place.
This past weekend, my garden actually began to resemble a garden
instead of a barren piece of earth.
Finally, I have gently patted some baby plants into place.
This past weekend, my garden actually began to resemble a garden instead of a barren piece of earth.
I planted seven tomato plants – five were a gift from reader Cynthia Walker who had a few extra, one was a birthday gift from my friend Tiffany, also a novice gardener, and the seventh was one that decided to spring up from some seeds I sowed two years ago in a container.
The plants had been waiting for about a week, and I figured if I waited any longer, they wouldn’t stand a chance at survival. So Sunday, I got down to work, roping my boyfriend into helping me when he came out to see how it was going.
The actual planting took very little time – we just dug holes, stuck in the plants, buried them up again and watered. Six young tomato plants are now happily in the ground, and one is in a container, as insurance against anything that might go wrong with my soil. (I’m still not convinced anything but dandelions and nasturiums will grow in my plot.)
Of course, seven tomato plants could be overkill, as I don’t even like raw tomatoes. I may have just consigned myself to a summer of spaghetti-sauce making.
After seeing how easy the planting was and how healthy our newly planted tomatoes looked, our confidence soared, and my boyfriend and I hit the nursery. Hard. Not only did we get the support cages for our tomato plants, we bought more baby plants than we really have room for.
As visions of light, fresh summer meals filled our heads, we filled our cart. We bought multiples of red and green bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, anaheim peppers, crookneck squash and some kind of stripey winter squash that we hope will grow in summer, red onions, oregano, honeydew and cucumbers, as well as an eight-pack of basil (who needs eight basil plants?) and a six-pack of strawberries.
Maybe we went a little overboard, but buying more plants than you really need – or even have room for – increases your chances of getting some that survive, right? Simple gardening mathematics.
And I did exercise some restraint – I managed to avoid coming home with the numerous gardening gadgets that lined the path to the checkout stand. Having just received some gardening gadgets for my birthday (a bucket organizer – ingenious! and a kneeling pad – like kneeling on a cloud), it was fairly easy.
Now, all I have to do is get the rest of those baby plants into the ground and a couple of containers, and I’ll be set.
Like my boyfriend said: “If these all grow, I’m going to be very happy.”
Me, too.
If you have any tips on how to grow anything we’re planting, please send them in. E-mail cv*****@**********rs.com or call (408) 842-9505.
