HDMGG - June 9, 2015

All eleven boxes (ten large, one small) are planted. It is still pretty cold but it is time to be an optimist and get the garden started. There are eight Roma tomatoes (to be roasted for tomato soup), one eating tomato, two golden cherry tomatoes (for snacking), four red peppers (to go with the tomatoes in the soup), one orange pepper for eating, three tomatillos, six basil (for the freezer), one oregano and one thyme. There is still room for three more peppers.

Everything is pretty much the same size as when I bought the plants a couple of weeks ago. The tomatillos have been growing though, and there's actually one fruit on one of the plants.

Why not me

Since my cancer diagnosis a lot of people have said something along the lines of "You're the last person I thought would get cancer. You do everything right." I sometimes have the sense that this is a prelude or invitation to a 'why me' discussion and that that would be the comfortable choice for everyone. I would have support as I felt sorry for myself and my friends could avoid thinking about how the same events would alter their lives.

But I can't and won't adopt the 'why me' point of view. From the very first inkling that I might have cancer my reaction has been 'why not me?' I don't think I am so special that the vagaries of life should pass me by. And it seems to me that you can't pick and choose your reaction depending on events. What do 'why me' people do in moments of beauty and joy? Do they wonder the same thing or do they somehow feel more deserving of the good times than the bad?

I had a 'why not me' moment on our bike ride last week. I was doing something I enjoy in a beautiful place in great weather while accompanied by my husband and friends. As I pedalled alone, catching up with the group after stopping for photos, my thoughts were not about 'why' I was having such a great time. Instead, I reflected that there was no reason why I shouldn't I have this time, this experience. The good comes with the bad. Thoughts of the good will surely mitigate the bad.

Beauty

Joy

HDMGG - August 3

It's a jungle out there.

Red or Finished: #3 - Cable Collar Pullover

From the garden

From my needles, Ta da da da

Tomorrow will be different

It will be a difficult day so I took a walk to look at the day lilies. These flowers won't be there tomorrow but there will be others in their place.

HDMGG - July 20

We have had two weeks of warm weather with occasional rain. Things look good although fruit set on the tomatoes seems slow.  Maybe I am just more impatient these days. 

I missed pruning a couple of suckers on one of the cherry tomatoes and they are taking off across the deck. I should cut them off but am reluctant to do so. What is the source of my sudden affinity for a couple of stems of plant material?

HDMGG - July 6

The plants on the deck are thriving in spite of buffeting by hurricane force winds and a touch of blight,


The tomatoes are taller and are blooming.

There are peppers.

The basil has shaken off the wind and the chilly temperatures and is starting to fill out and get taller.

Early Girl tomato removed because of blight.

HDMGG - June 22

How does my garden grow? Not very well when the temperature stays low for days on end and a torrential rain storm rips up the plants. The tomatoes are just barely holding their own and the basil is very unhappy. On the good news front, there are several baby peppers. And now that I look at the photos I can see that the oregano has grown quite a bit.

I have made progress toward my goal of keeping the tomatoes in check this year. The stakes are in and the first fasteners are on. I pruned a couple of the indeterminate plants. I will leave the rest until they are happier.

Changes since June 8 - new Early Girl tomato and jalapeno pepper and replacement Roma tomato.

How does my garden grow (HDMGG) - June 8

I am not particularly interested in gardening. My idea of landscaping is rhododendrons and day lilies - plants I can basically ignore and enjoy when they flower. Years ago I had a large vegetable garden and I did enjoy that. I started plants from seed and experimented with new-to-me things each year. I had to give up the garden when we moved to a house which has no natural location for an effective veggie patch.

A few years ago my mother bought herself a few EarthBoxes. She kept them on her deck and they were a minor supplement to her large vegetable garden. I was intrigued by what I saw and bought some for myself. The sunniest spot on our property is our east facing decks. The boxes could sit there where I could enjoy them from the dining and living rooms. The first year I grew several types of tomatoes, green, red and jalapeño peppers and six large-leaved basil plants. I wasn't ready for the results. Everything grew and grew and grew. The tomatoes tumbled everywhere and the basil grew to six feet. At the end of the season I roasted and froze many pounds of tomatoes and peppers for soup and chopped bags and bags of jalapeños and basil. For a while the kitchen was a toxic work zone because of the fumes.

Last year I bought more boxes and planted even more, including zucchini, cucumbers and herbs. I experimented with methods of staking the tomatoes but didn't find a system that really worked. Once again I had an enormous crop and ended up being unable to process all of the tomatoes.

This year I have cut back a little. Yesterday I planted tomatoes - 6 Roma, 2 Supersweet 100 and 1 Red Candy,  peppers - 3 Kapela, basil  - 6 unidentified plants, and one each of thyme and oregano. I left room for a few tomatillos in case I can find them. It was a warm but cloudy day and we have sun but not too much warmth today. They should get off to a good start. Now I will start planning a staking system for the tomatoes in an effort to stay ahead of their growth.

I'll document the garden in photos every two weeks or so. At the very least this will prove that I am not exaggerating about big my basil gets.