Good...Enough

Another 'before' picture of the garden...taken the first week June.








These next two pictures represent the same area you can see in the picture above.
















Here's the same 'before' picture, with the tomato patch in the second box in the background.

And this is what the tomato patch looks like now. I've taken to fortifying the plants with some Miracle Grow Tomato Food. Is it organic? Don't know. Don't actually care. It turns out I don't go to a lot of trouble to get organic food. I love local food, specifically free local food (though I'm not opposed to the farmer's market, for sure). And it's not for health reasons so much as it is for the fact that it appeals to my pioneering spirit. I love the idea of working the land, of farming and cultivating on a very personal level.

My friend Sally came over on Sunday afternoon with her partner Christina, and we had fun sitting on the back patio, listening to the waterfall, and exploring the veggie patches. They're really just starting to garden and think about gray water solutions and native plantings. Much like me! So we were fumbling around, comparing notes, and generally urging each other on with 'go get 'ems' and 'attaboys!'. We also ate fresh bread and blackberry jam from Monica's patch. That took about 4 minutes to plow through a loaf and a pint! Ahem.

This season of summer, I've been the recipient of abundant harvests from my mom's garden (corn, beans, zucchini ~ although, hey, I could use more zucchini! ~ peppers, eggs) and Monica's garden (tomatoes, peppers, blackberries, plums) and Michelle's tree (plums). I've yet to pluck even a single edible anything from my own garden, but I don't mind telling you, just sitting out there and enjoying the abundance of the plants (you saw the before and after, right?!?) makes me so happy!

And it also gives me great joy to tend my garden. I'm currently spritzing the pumpkin leaves with a mixture of (mostly) water, some baking soda, white vinegar, and vegetable oil. I believe they have something called 'powdery mildew', but the solution seems to be working!

Honestly, these little successes...it's growing! I'm curing it!...are good enough for me. I do look forward to eating and preserving my own harvests, but I also do enjoy the act of gardening.