A Bit of Earth

Ever since elementary school when my science class put Lima beans in plastic bags with wet paper towel and watched them grow, I have been fascinated with growing things. I love flowers, but I especially love growing things that I can eat. I've never been able to before because the things I want to grow, like corn and peas and watermelon and pumpkins don't grow in rocky soil or (my mom's alternative) big plastic bins. Or under the Hot Texas sun without a lot of help.

Finally, after helping other people weed their gardens for so many years here in Idaho, mine is actually planted in a bit of earth just south of town.

Side note: In the USSR the government gave every family a little plot of land out side of town for a garden, and in Ukraine some families still have the plot that they have been growing on for generations. They go out on weekends to work on their little gardens, like a break from life in the city.

What is in my garden?:

A row of red potatoes and a row of Yukon Gold potatoes - because in a State of baking potatoes you can never had too much variety.

Watermelon (Sweet Red and Golden Yellow) - Because it is my favorite summertime fruit. Someday, I'll try to build a green house so I can have watermelon year round.

2 Cantaloupe plants - Do I have to tell you why I'm growing cantaloupe? I have three words for you. "Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm..."

A row and a half of Squash - Butternut, Crookneck, Summer Frill, Eight Ball, and Jack o' Lanterns (because if I grow my own, I can carve as many as I want), and I think we might have some rough gourds in there from last years planters.

The Salsa Garden - This is a special part of the garden with only one thing in mind! My need for salsa. tomatoes of all kinds, even tomatillos, cilantro, onions, garlic, jalapeños, assorted bell peppers, and banana peppers.

A row of Eggplant and Cucumbers - don't ask me why they're on the same row, that's just how they landed.

A row of Wild Flowers and Sunflowers with a special artsy clump of Shasta Daisies - simply because I'm Sarah. And the Sunflowers are actually in charge of shading the . . .

Peas, Carrots, and three different colors of Beans - two rows with this stuff on them. There are purple beans, green beans, and yellow beans, so that when I make bean salad this year it will be colorful and fresh.,

The plot is a part of the church farm, and is backed up to the corn fields, so our coordinator told us not to plant corn . . . just glean if we needed some. Grandpa Dean plants really yummy sweet varieties of corn, too, so I'm pretty sure I'm set for corn this year.

Lest you think I'm ambitious enough to do all of this alone, let me tell you, my friend Anne is a horticulturist, and this is her garden too. Also, since you know how bad I am at watering things . . . if you don't, I'll tell you about it later. The plot is watered for us every Monday and Thursday. All we have to do is plant (done), weed (doing), and harvest. Hooray!!!