Victory gardens

I heard on the radio yesterday that seed sales are sky rocketing. People, normal people, are scratching in the dirt and planting vegetables. Organic produce is expensive, main stream produce is tasteless and nowhere near "fresh". People are making the obvious deduction and saying, "Hey, I am going to try growing some myself."

I applaud this, even if it is a bad economy that pushes them there.

I am not a big gardener although I sure like it when I do it. Something happens when kids come along. Maybe it is the lack of uninterrupted time. So, I haven't really pulled my garden together since Shea came along.

But, I want to. Maybe this year can be different. I usually only plant the stuff I have had previous success with; lettuces, spinach, mustard greens, peas, beans. Yes, I have done tomatoes with varying success. My laziness has pushed me to buy tomatoes at the farmers market because I just can't stand the disappointment.

But, I love to plant flower seeds, easy ones. Nasturtiums, bachelor buttons, allysum: pretty, easy stuff the kids can help with.

When I walk out through my garden patch all I see is the weeds. It seems insurmountable. How am I going to clear a spot big enough for these lettuces? It's hard to start. But, when I grab a garden fork and some gloves and start turning, it goes amazing quick. It is just the starting. In a short time, maybe 1/2 an hour, I have a 4 x 6 plot ready for some lettuces. And, I am all deliciously warm and pink from the exertion. Be careful of your back!

All lettuces and spinaches are cool weather crops and will bolt (go to seed) when it gets to hot. So, plant early. Also I have found doing 2 - 3 successive plantings about 1 week apart is a good way to maximize the harvest.

So, anyway, enough talking about it. I hope to pull this off today. Wish me luck.