How does your garden grow?

Six years ago when we lived in Davis, I spent a bunch of money in a futile attempt to start a vegetable garden in the backyard of the duplex we shared with our crazy 90-year-old landlady Juanita (RIP).  I had the landscapers rototill for me.  I bought seeds and equipment.  My grandparents even helped me out with it.

Then summer came and I basically never set foot in the backyard again.  The garden never grew because I never even planted the seeds.  It was a total waste of energy.  Apparently my blind ambition had caused me to forget that we basically lived on the sun and that my 300-pound behind could not take the heat.  I spent that summer enjoying store-bought zucchini from the comfort of my air-conditioned kitchen.  I forgot all about the garden.  The one I never planted.

But apparently Dave has not forgotten!  This weekend I began planning my garden in earnest.  I pulled out the half-dead bush next to the fence.  I started my seeds in one of those Jiffy indoor greenhouses.   I even bought a little calendar to remind me when to transplant things and to track my progress.  And every step of the way Dave has been niggling me and giving me a hard time.  He even went so far as to tell me I shouldn't blog about the garden because won't I be embarrassed when I let it go to weeds?!

I blame this reaction on law school.  You see, I've set a PRECEDENT of having sucked at following through in the garden and now THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS.  This is a constant theme in virtually every heated discussion we've ever had.  If I've done something ONCE, I'm doomed to repeat it in perpetuity.  I keep telling him that people aren't like case law, we're allowed to change our minds and evolve and do things differently just because we feel like it, but he'll only believe it when he sees it.  When I set a new precedent. 

So this year I'm really looking forward to the garden!  My seeds are all beginning to sprout and I can't wait for the sweet, acidic, tomato-flavored "I told you so" I'll get to enjoy.

You can follow my progress on Flickr:

1. Basil
2. Green Beans
3. Carrots
4. Leaf lettuce
5. Simpson lettuce
6. Walla walla onion
7. Parsley
8. Pumpkins
9. Brandywine tomatoes
10. Yellow tomatoes
11. Beefsteak tomatoes
12. Watermelon
And maybe more, we'll see...

Comments

[Rachel]

Soo... this is totally off topic... but I changed my mind from the other day. I'm SO rooting for David Archuleta on American Idol now!

[Erica]

Congrats on getting started! I'm looking forward to seeing your progress : )

P.S. We had your meatloaf again for dinner tonight. YUM!

[karen]

If you can get it to grow, you might want to plant some garlic. Even if you don't want to eat it, it's a great natural pest repellent.

[Tana]

Yeah, for your Garden!

We too had your meatloaf again for dinner the other night, yummy!!

[grammice]

Been there done that. Husband made me so mad with that "sure you are" comment one time that I rented a giant tiller and drug my ass thru the mud and rain tilling. I planted everything I could get my hands on. He got quite proud when I had tons of snap beans and tomatoes and corn. FYI bees LOVE to nest under the leaves of bean plants. Found out the hard way...RUNNNNNNNN

[Sara]

Yay for your garden! We planted tomatoes and strawberries in the jiffy thing too- the tomatowes are growing like crazy but the strawberries are not so much.
When people doubt that you'll finish things, doesn't it just make you even more determined to finish just so you can rub their face in it? Maybe it's just me...

[Cole]

Just a heads up on the walla walla onions, but when you grow up in walla walla you pick up on a few things. Usually they do better when planted in the fall.

[lia]

Good luck! Seems like a lot of plants for the area you have though.