Trowel and Error

Hootie (Minus the Blowfish)

I've yet to put up a fence around my little garden plot. I want to, I need to, I should. But, for whatever reason, I just haven't. I guess it falls way down on my list of things to do around the place, the list that seems to lengthen every week. Somehow, mowing grass is always near the top, though. That one always sneaks in and usually gets immediate attention.

So I've made do with Hootie here. He's a two-foot plastic owl who keeps a watchful eye on the garden day and night. Before I got him, I'd go out to the garden and find little paw prints here and there with tell-tale signs of nibbling on the leaves and stems. Rabbits! And I've also seen some hoof prints that seem to indicate a deer or two visiting at some point. We've also seen turkey, some kind of a huge fox squirrel (looked like a tree-climbing lemur), coyotes, wild dogs and snakes. Fortunately, none of these last creatures have been a problem in the garden. I'm not sure Hootie Owl would be much of a match for coyotes. But he's done a great job of keeping rabbits and birds out of the area.

He's a great helper. If only I could teach him to drive the mower.

The Garden Is In

We live on 10 acres in the middle part of Georgia. Some folks, mostly those who don't know any better, would call us rural. But we have amenities. I mean, really now, isn't having your own Harvey's grocery store and a CVS uptown? We have high-speed internet with our cable TV. We have DirecTV. And none of our bathrooms are outside (unless you're way down on the other end and have to go and then it's ok, I guess). But, our friends in Atlanta think anything outside of The Perimeter (a highway that encircles Atlanta, much like Sherman did all those many years ago) is rural. So, ok. We're rural. Just don't call us "country." There's a big difference, and it mostly has to do with whether or not you live far enough out that people drop stray dogs off at your place.

The garden plot

On this 10 acres, we've cut out about a half acre and reserved it for the garden. I first planted one there in 2006, the summer after we moved in. I put in four 12' x 12' raised beds with some pebble walkways dividing them up. There is also a small 2' x 2' bed right in the middle for our three-year-old son, Muleshoe (not his real name, but could be if we were actually "country"), to have as his own little garden.

This year, I planted one bed with 12 tomato plants. Another bed got 12 zucchini plants. The third bed got 12 okra seedlings. And the fourth is split between eggplant and cucumbers. I've never tried growing zucchini or eggplant so I'm very excited to see how they turn out.

Muleshoe and me putting in the plants

In Muleshoe's plot we planted two yellow tomatoes and two bell peppers, one purple and one yellow. He's very excited about the prospect of having different colors growing in his plot. And, despite his age, he really did help plant. I dug the holes and he dropped the tiny plants in and we both set them in with that rich, black earth. Then we ran the hose from the garage out to the garden and set up the sprinkler system, which I'm not entirely happy with. I think I'll change it up next chance I get.

Last year, we had more cucumbers than we knew what to do with but hardly any tomatoes. An early storm and a blight got to the tomato plants, unfortunately. This year, I'll be more vigilant since there's nothing better than a fresh tomato to me. I personally could eat all I harvest. Well, I pretty much do since The Wife and Muleshoe aren't really tomato fans. Fine by me. Of course, I share some, as well, with the people I work with, my in-laws, and our good neighbor and distant relative next door, Uncle Nick. What's the point of having a garden if you don't share the bounty?

So begins our summer garden for 2008. I'll keep you posted on the progress. That is, unless some folks drop off some stray dogs in our yard. Then I'll be forced to deal with both the dogs and being "country." It might be more than I can handle.