Our Garden Part I

Two years ago, Michael and I planted our first garden. For beginners, we had astounding success. We had no problems with pests wanting to eat the fruits of our labor and everything grew beautifully with only a little organic food here and there, and of course, adequate watering. Last summer we never got around to planting a garden (being the jetsetters we were from April to June, we were not home much) and I sorely missed having veggies fresh from the garden. I especially missed my tomatoes; there is no comparison I have found to tomatoes warm from a day in the sun. Tomatoes I bring home from the grocery store (even store-bought organic tomatoes) lack a certain something--a juicy freshness--that I crave.

So this summer, I started talking early about a garden in order to get Michael prepared for the work he would need to contribute to help bring those tomatoes to our table. :) I started in February or March with some seeds given to us by Kathleen and Matthew when they headed down south last year. There were all kinds of organic, high-quality seeds, but they were intended for planting in 2008 so I wasn't sure if they would grow into strong plants or not two years after their "best by" date.

I got some seedlings started and fussed over them for the next few months, while I waited 1) for the weather to become somewhat spring-like so they would survive in the ground and 2) for them to grow big enough to make it on their own outside.

In May Michael spent a few hours assembling some planter boxes out of some old boards from our deck (we are currently in the middle of a do-it-yourself deck remodel) and when I came back from the retreat, I spent a few more hours lining the boxes with plastic so as to avoid any contamination from old paint or stain left on the wood. The finished products turned out pretty well . . .