Today I successfully planted 48 of the 74 tomato plants I had left from seed. I gave my neighbor a few about 2 weeks ago and today gave another neighbor 5 more. Leaving me around 20 to either give away or plant in the ground. I could just destroy them, but seriously I feel like they are my babies AND honestly this is about me trying to keep plants alive, not kill them..... SOOOOOO I am sure I'll be canning my heart out here sooner than later.
To fully appreciate my day today, I need to regress to a few weeks ago..... the afforementioned neighbor who received tomato plants a few weeks ago has become my "gardening buddy" here in the neighborhood. She is probably somewhere in the range of 75-80 years old, deaf in one ear and mostly deaf in the other ear. She weighs in the ball park of 90-100 pound soaking wet and looks like a dear old grandma. So last night when I was working feverishly to get my new flowers in before dark, I turned around and almost had a heart attack. She was standing there quiet as can be. After my heart calmed down a bit I smiled and she asked what I was doing here. I told her and she asked me why I hadn't asked for her help. Not wanting to state the obvious, I just told her it was a last minute plan, etc, etc. She insisted that "tomorrow" she would come help. I said, "really it is OK". That wasn't the plan in her mind.
This morning I got up, got the kids fed and dressed and we went out. The weather here is OK, maybe 60 degrees or more. Chilly if you are standing still but when moving about I was OK with a t shirt and short pants. (this is important later in the story). Oliver got his wheel barrow and I got some shovels. We went to the front yard to collect mushroom manure to wheel around to the back for my tomatoes. After one trip, my garden buddy shows up and says, "wow you got it all in the ground last night". I reply, "yeah, I just wanted to bang it out". She says, "what are you working on now". I say, " getting all those tomato plants in the ground". " Well I'll help" she says. After realizing she wouldn't take NO for an answer, I reluctantly allowed her to walk around back with me and the kids. Not that I didn't want the help, but I just feel bad that this old woman is helping dumb ole me with planting.
We get around back and in my garden plot I have two heads of spinach, a head of rainbow chard and a head of arugula. I had also gotten a bit giddy when my friend Jess mentioned that peas would grow in the cold weather, so I should plant some (a few weeks ago). So I went out, got the pea seeds and planted them. Only about 5 to see what would happen..... remember I am new at this. So we get to the plot and neighbor says, "you gotta turn this ground". I already had but it has been a few weeks. So I take her in and show her my pea pods. I soon find out she didn't hear me. So she agrees with me where to start planting the maters. I start by digging a hole. Oliver is laughing while he fills up the hole with manure. She says "plant the tomato deep in the hole so it can support itself." So I do. But one plant I don't plant deep enough. All frusterated and quite loudly she yells "YOU HAVE TO PLANT THEM DEEPLY!!!". I felt like I was 5 again. At the same time she is short with Oliver for not scooping the manure right. I felt very badly for him, but hey we were in the same boat. Oliver then begins to bring me plants while stepping on my chard, spinach and arugula. She is now becoming more and more frusterated. Gaby starts crying. I am digging and planting at lightning speed because if I don't I am going to get my fingers smacked by the nun. She says " maybe you need to do this when they are sleeping." Oliver goes to play with his car. He gets stuck in the driveway. She pushes him out. And for a moment, I think OK Hitler is gone..... but NO she comes back and starts digging up my dirt totally ignoring the fact that she just dug up my 5 pea plants. When I tell her, "that is one of my pea plants" while pointing to a tiny green plant, roots all showing, lying on top of the dirt..... she picks it up, throws it across the yard and says, "not anymore! Besides if you want peas you have to plant many many plants to get enough for dinner. Also you need more than two spinach. This cooks down and you will have hardly anything left". After digging up the rest of the dirt and handing me plants, she says "I am gonna go now" and like that Hitler is gone. A few moments passed, and I laughed like an idiot that this little old lady, wearing a tossel cap, a big wintery coat and gloves just beat the hell out of us (remember it is like 60 some degrees out). What a day!!!!
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