Summer Plantings

I'm still pulling ticks out of my skin.  I'm getting pretty good at detecting them within seconds of a bite or scurry, but some still elude me.  Today was planting day...well the last planting day before we wouldn't have a chance to plant our summer garden.  Every year the summer garden is the bountiful harvest that we can and carry over through the winter.  Usually however it is small and what I can get put up is smaller still.  Imagine trying to subsist on 12 pints of green beans which is all I got put up one year.  Generally, my summer garden is in before my spring one is done harvesting.  Most years I am pulling peas off while bean plants start to take off.  This has not been the case this year.

This year we have had nothing but rain.  Heck, the only way we got a summer garden in at all is between rains.  If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have tried to put it in as early as possible.  Anyway, no point in saying should've or could've.  It's in and it's not too late to get some good food out of the ground.

It was no small task either.  It took every person in the house to get it all done in one day...well almost all of it.  We did some earlier before the rains got in the way again that is.  We had to plant 200 sweet potato slips, 400 feet of green beans, 200 feet of sunflowers, a total of 200 feet of corn (planted in a block to help pollination), and 200 feet of winter squash.  This is on top of the 100 feet of cucumbers, 50 feet of summer squash, 100 feet of okra, and 35 tomato plants...which they look like they will never grow.  If the deer leave it alone, we should get some food to can and maybe a little bit to sell.  That's the plan.  Of course, my plans never turn out the way I envision them.

First, my husband went out to prepare the ground with our hand me down tiller that is constantly needing new parts.  In fact, just yesterday we had to rush to the part store before it closed, just so it could be fixed and operational for the morning's planting.  I hate rushing to the part store for last minute needs.  It's always the same...at 4:00 pm, you can set your watch by it, my husband will have finally figured out the problem and realizes he needs a part which is only found an hour away.  Oh and that one and only place that carries this essential part closes at 5:00pm.  So now it is a mad dash to the parts store, crossing your fingers, and praying you don't get stuck behind grandma, don't get a speeding ticket, or they don't close 5 minutes early.  I cuss on days like this...a lot.  I cuss, I yell, and I generally let the world know I am sick and tired of being told essential things at the last freaking minute.  I get so flustered that even the day after, I feel upset over it.  Why?  I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I suspect it happens so perfectly at just an hour before every time, it can not be coincidence.  FYI, my husband hates gardening.  He is the child of a farmer and hates everything to do with it.

So why rush anyway?  Why not just get the part in the morning?  (This was my husband's question)  Why?  Well, it's raining Saturday and it won't dry out again until June 5th at the earliest.  That's the forecast folks.  That's much too late to plant a summer garden.  The repair would take too much time and we wouldn't have had it all tilled, hand hoed, and planted in time.  As it is, working from sunup, to sundown, we almost didn't have enough time...with a working tiller.  Again, see why it's suspicious these coincidences.  Anyway, that is neither here nor there.

He did go out at the first lights to break ground with the tiller, even if he hates it, because he does love me.  He knows my garden gives me joy.  He found me out amongst the pea plants talking to them and checking each over as if it were a child about a year ago.  He laughed and said to me, "you really do love plants as much as children."  I quipped, "sometimes more, because they don't talk back."  I was joking, sort of.

I haven't had that peace this year because the rains prevented me from planting a spring garden.  I missed my peas, turnips, beets, radishes, mustard, lamb's quarters, lettuce, spinach, etc...  I missed going out to garden, to just sit in the quiet, away from the teenage quarrels my daughter's have hourly.  I missed having an excuse to walk away for ten minutes and get fresh air.  It has taken a toll on my nerves too.

Finally, though, I have my summer garden.  The bit we planted first looks weak.  I have few plants coming up well, except for okra.  It's rising well.  I will probably fertilize by side dressing after this monster rain coming up.  I wish I had time to do that today, but all we could manage was to get our seeds in the ground.

What an "adventure" getting it all planted was too.  First, from sun-up until about 2pm, my husband tilled.  Why did it take so long?  Well imagine land that has been reclaimed from the wild, covered in 3 foot vines, and prickly things.  The old tiller lurches forward chewing up dirt behind it as it goes, but also wrapping those lovely, prickly vines around the tines.  After a couple feet, the tines won't move, so my son goes in and cuts the vines off the tines and frees it to till once more.  They had to do this for a plot 20 foot by 150 foot.  Fun right?  My husband was about cussing by 2 pm.

From 2pm on, we hoed rows.  We had to take turns as that kind of work done by hand is tiring...especially when one of our hoes has a very dull head.  So back and forth, Nilla, Lucy, Sona, Bubby, and I traded places at the hoe.  There were shouting matches over who screwed up the straightness of the row.   (For the record, I don't care who did what, just fix it)  There were children threatening to give up and walk out of the garden (No sir, get your butt back here because this food is for you!).  There were tears because I ruined all their plans with my stupid garden and now they couldn't go to their friend's house.  I'm a mean mom, because I make them work.  I don't care if I am a mean mom.  They know how to plant a garden.  They know where food comes from.  They can put up food too.  How many kids can do that today?  It was a test of every fiber in my body, physically and mentally.  I don't regret it a bit.  Though I am certain, some certain little girls do regret being mouthy to me because I ruined their day with my stupid garden that keeps them from starving.

I did find something interesting out though.  When I am angry and holding my tongue, I can get 50 foot of row done in less than 5 minutes.  I didn't even get tired after that...it wasn't until the second 50 foot patch that I ran out of steam a bit.  I wish my children could channel their anger as effectively instead of complaining about it all.  Perhaps leading by example will help them, who knows.

So now, I can sit back for a little while...a week at least, and dream of all the lovely plants that will pop up and the tasty delights they might have for me.  I can plan how many cans I will need to put food up and budget accordingly.  I can start to plan the fall garden, the fall herb garden, and the fall flower garden.

I know, I made it sound ugly.  Who would want to do this with all the bickering?  I do.  As much as they say they hate it when they are working in the garden, come Yule, they will pull a jar of pickles, and say, "Hey mom remember when we planted these.  Man, I hated it, but boy do I love these pickles."  How do I know?  Well, they do this every year.  It's worth it when everything is so dreary and they get a taste of summer.  They smile.  They say, "Can we plant twice as many next year?"  (Which is why the garden is so big this year)  They dream about making more pickles and different kinds.  They say, "Mom, could I can some by myself next year if the garden is big enough?  Oh, and can I have a real apron?"  They dream of big gardens too, they are just too young and immature to discipline themselves to achieve it.  That's why I don't care if I am a mean mom...no one was there to push me on towards what I wanted.  I am there to do that for them.