Garden repentance

I must take back something I have said before. I have wished for a bigger garden.

I take that back.

It's 34 in the shade. The hordes of mosquitoes have been joined by wasps. Whoever said that a wasp will leave you alone if you leave it alone, was a flaming idiot who never met a wasp in his life!

The sweat is pouring off me as I toil in my teeny garden, watering and harvesting. I do not like the heat. Feel ill in this heat. Have no breath or energy. And the 11 ripe tomatoes and the two potato plants I harvested are just the right amount. I cannot imagine the work and sweat people put in to tend and then harvest/process the yield that those large gardens produce!

Enough strawberries to have a bowl or two with cream is just enough. Enough rhubarb for 3 or 4 crisps is just enough. Enough raspberries and blueberries to pop into my mouth right off the plant are just enough. I better count my blessings that the harvesting I do is just enough to keep me from passing out in the heat and laying there until the neighbourhood bear finds me.

Tonight is Hub's birthday. I have wine chilling, got the meat man to slice a standing rib roast into steaks (not going to turn the oven on today!), have home grown spuds from the garden and bright, wonderful tomatoes from the garden. Good garden, good food, good man. I have just enough. I really do. Enough of everything.

Well put!
My gardrn is also [i]just right[i] and I think I finally have just the right amount of chickens and ducks!

Holy smokes...34 in the shade...I can't handle that anymore. I grew up outside of Kelowna...so I saw lots of that as a kid, but I just can't do that anymore. Here in Smithers I start having a fit if it hits 30 in the sun. Love the "just enough" philosophy, that is great...if everyone knew when they were well off and "had enough" the world would be a better place for it!

uno wrote:
Enough strawberries to have a bowl or two with cream is just enough. Enough rhubarb for 3 or 4 crisps is just enough. Enough raspberries and blueberries to pop into my mouth right off the plant are just enough. I better count my blessings that the harvesting I do is just enough to keep me from passing out in the heat and laying there until the neighbourhood bear finds me.

Tonight is Hub's birthday. I have wine chilling, got the meat man to slice a standing rib roast into steaks (not going to turn the oven on today!), have home grown spuds from the garden and bright, wonderful tomatoes from the garden. Good garden, good food, good man. I have just enough. I really do. Enough of everything.

Nice!

I am gardening again . The last two years I haven't been able to because of a car accident. It is so amazing to go to the garden, pick a mess of potatoes, beets, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers carrots herbs and garlic, go back to the kitchen and cook up an incredibly tasting meal. I agree that a small garden that doesn't demand all of my time is "enough". I am so grateful.

I hear ya on the heat. We had it for a while and now it's cooled off (currently pouring rain) and I love it. Even the Aussie was dragging herself around and I've never seen anything cut her energy before.

My one little raised bed isn't quite enough yet. One more might do it. I've been taking swiss chard every morning for our smoothies and I can barely keep up with the growth. Nothing better than fresh picked produce. You're eating the plant before it even knows it's been picked. You can really taste the life force.

It's easier to cool off then to warm up in my books so bring on the heat ,love it ! Enough is enough is only as good as long as we don't look over the fence and look at someone elses plot , thats when we normally look back and see what we thought was enough and realize that we want more .............happens to everyone

Then there are the other problems with the heat. A few years back, I was driving home from work and passed a guy (must have been in his 50's) mowing his lawn in a thong.

I almost drove off the road as I clawed at my eyes!

.

HigginsRAT wrote:

Fowler wrote:Then there are the other problems with the heat. A few years back, I was driving home from work and passed a guy (must have been in his 50's) mowing his lawn in a thong.

I almost drove off the road as I clawed at my eyes!

Ha ha ha...we did that a week ago too.

Tara

I am sorry Tara, I couldn't get past the first line!!!
I am sure the geese and swans would be aghast if you and Rick were mowing the lawns in your thongs (and I don't mean the feet ones! ) I suppose it would mean not tan lines.

.

Sometimes, I think having a big garden is a good idea. And then I remember that I hate weeding and I don't have time for it anyway.

Maybe when I retire.

A big garden just means there is lots of spare stuff for the animals too.
Guess big is a relative term, so one person's big garden, is another person's small plot.
Since I am a seed hoarder, I could use more gardens. Hubby rolls his eyes and wonders why I am so insane and want more. He just doesn't realize how much space stuff takes....

I smile, as I think of the mountains of time that I will be sitting on my porch, my beautiful knife in hand, big 3 gallon buckets, food grade, that I get from the IGA bakery department, my little table I use for cutting outside on, my cutting board....I will soon be in my gloriest glory. The hours that I will spend cutting, swiping food off the cutting board, into buckets, readying for the preparation of food to feed our families throughout winter. No regrets. Wish my gardens were bigger. I only had room enough this year for about 18 corn plants. The other big thing was tomatoes. So many of those, I think that will make my head spin. I will depend on the other growers in the area to provide our family with that beautiful corn, picked one day, processed the next morning and off to the canner and freezer. No regrets here. That is my summer relaxation. On our outside porch, making food for wintertime, good, yummy, homegrown food. I can't wait!! Seriously, this to me is pleasure. Much better than reading a book or anything. Not that I know too that I will be laying my hammock, reading something or other, probably a book on chicken genetics, a cool beverage by my side, in the shaded porch in the forefront of our home. Soon, very soon. Nice topic Uno. Beautiful and happy days for us all, CynthiaM.

I am with Cynthia on this one. My garden is my gym membership. I absolutely love the weeding, picking, processing (and most importantly, the eating!) I love that my kids love the garden. I like raising chickens and other animals, but my garden breaks my heart much less often. I don't need to feel bad of something in the garden gets wrecked, trampled or destroyed. It does not feel pain, so I don't need to feel grief and compassion. I am good with that. It is easier on my heart.