It Only Took Four Years

Now that we've had a break from the rain, things are really starting to happen.

I didn't really understand before that a vegetable garden needs a balance of water and time to dry out.  Our plants were soaked--first by us with our best intentions and then by sequential days of dripping skies. When the leaves of our grape tomato plant began to curl and slightly brown, I started to worry. I even called my mom, hoping her infinite gardening wisdom may be able to salvage any damage we were causing. Sensing my stress, she suggested we go to a local garden center with a trimming of the affected tomato plant and ask them.

The very kind woman at Marvin's Organic Gardens took one look at our leaves and said, "It could be sick but it's more likely you're overwatering."  Oh. We walked back to our car, slightly embarrassed.  Its true. We knew it.  And helplessly we watched it rain for the next several days without much break. 

Finally there is a clear blue sky over my head. I'm typing this on our patio because it's too beautiful to be indoors. Or daisies, a gift dug up from a friend of a friend of a friend's yard (gifting plants is how gardeners say hello to each other), have finally unfurled its white petals to show its yellow faces.

Many of the plants are growing so quickly that they are escaping the cedar box and making their way into the yard.  There are a few new tiny butternut squash on the vine that are getting a little larger each day.  I'm already thinking about butternut squash risotto.

Perhaps the sweetest thing growing is the watermelon, which seems to be thriving and finally has a little mini fruit.   It appears to be getting slightly bigger every day, starting out the size of a dime and now almost as large as a half dollar. It feels especially good to see this plant thrive since I so wanted to grow one last summer.

And the "Tasty Slicer" cucumber is looking better, too. It has had mini cucumbers on it for a week or two now but they seemed premature and unlikely to progress. And yet this morning, when i pulshed aside the leaves to examine the fruit, a few were noticeably greener and bigger. It's a very good indication that the garden is recovering from the drenching.

The almost-red tomatoes are now a deep, orangey-red and sitting on the kitchen table.  Tim high-fived me last night when I picked them. He was practically reading my mind when he said, "It only took four years, but now we can say we grew something."