it's happening.

after our vacation, i came back to a depressing sight. all of my pea plants had wilted and the onions were turning a funny color. i dug up the onions hoping that meant they were ready for eating, but they were about the size of what we put into the ground. maybe better luck next year. that's what i get for taking three weeks away from doing a single thing in my little plot of land. but that doesn't mean that i am not reaping some reward. a couple nights ago, we had taco night, with freshly picked cilantro, lettuce, and tomatoes out the whazoo. oh. it was fantastic.

oh the lessons we learn

there are many things i have learned since i started gardening this year. oh my. it is hard work. had i known this, i may not have scoffed at the prices at the farmer's market and taken my lazy butt there every wednesday to support their efforts. my limbs are shaking right now from crouching down over my tiny little vegetables, as i quietly prayed over them and willed them to grow strong and savory. i just wish i knew a few things before i started it.

1. why on earth did i not draw a map of what was in my garden? i have absolutely no idea what things are, what the empty spaces are (i.e. what isn't growing), if it is a weed or the real thing. dearest me, next year, i will not rely on the placement of the flimsy seed bags to tell me what's where, as they are now all over the yard in tiny, wet paper pieces. i might invest in something like this for next spring. seriously, i have no idea what basil and parsley look like outside of a spice jar. i had to google it and i'm still not sure i pulled the right thing.

2. weed every day. do not, i repeat DO NOT, forget about weeding. i had tackled it all about two weeks ago, then i got busy with the new york trip. plus, it was raining every other day, so i hadn't worried about even go out there to water. then, my garden turned into this.
i'm pretty sure the wild grass was restricting the growth of everything else. i guess the fertilizer works wonders on weeds, but does diddly squat on jalapeño peppers.

3. do not turn your back, even for 1 second, on the ginormous spider you just spotted mere inches from your current location. it will be gone in an instant, leaving you to wonder the rest of the time where that sucker went and if it is going to crawl up on you and bite you and you'll die instantly and no one will find you because the weeds are so high and your decomposing body will become fertilizer but then no one will eat the vegetables because they are human-fertilized produce. sigh. it could happen.

4. seeing how my hard work is starting to pay off does connect me with the earth a little and make me excited to see what succeeds in this tiny little plot in my backyard. so far, i see tiny baby radishes and cilantro out the wazoo. that alone is enough to get me a little addicted to this whole thing. and weeding. it's a workout. so i'm buffing up and staying fit while doing it. bonus!

old katie would never understand

if you knew me a few years ago, you would think that this post is a complete fabrication. heck, even last year i was so disgusted with dirt and bugs that i forced my mother-in-law to do most of my gardening. now though, i'm a certifiable green thumb. is that right? isn't that what you call gardeners? see...i'm still trying to figure it all out. i've been reading a couple books and am working on the lingo.

when we moved into this house last summer, there were some disgusting looking gardens with overgrown everything (mostly weeds) with random borders. so random. like bricks on a couple, then some of those cheap-o black plastic borders, then a couple with a little more pricey stone edging. it made no sense. oh, and the mulch. don't get me started on the mulch. like three different UGLY colors. it was as if our backyard was a community garden that was rented out to like six different people. six people with very bad taste and apparently bad backs who refused to weed.through it all though, i have so much hope for this garden and am confident it will eventually be amazing. so, i'm starting to weed. i've been weeding for the last three weeks, little by little, and there is still so much more that needs to be pulled. today, i saw a spider and didn't even jump or scream. i may have let out a "ugh-a-ugh-ga-ga-ga" (i think that's how to best spell the noise i made). point is, i'm doing it. i'm gardening in spite of the huge obstacles in my way and the fact that i think i'm weeding the same spots every time i go out there with my gloves on and trowel in hand. my only glimmer of hope lies in a few random tulips that have started growing through all the junk, bricks, weeds, and yuck. and the trees have started getting colorful. we have a purple tree in the back. i didn't know they existed. it's gorgeous outside.
i actually find getting my hands dirty a little relaxing and therapeutic. i'm getting in touch with nature and with how things used to be. i can't wait until we get to plant the seeds and hopefully get to eat some of the things that come out of the earth. the same earth that i spent so many hours tending to. the earth in my very own backyard.