“Last night we had three small zucchini for dinner that were grown within fifty feet of our back door. I estimate the cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $371.49 each.”
-Andy Rooney

Planted our first garden last year. My farmer neighbor was kind enough to plow up the soil with his John Deere tractor. As I was instructed, I went to the feed store and bought some seeds and fertilizer. I don’t know much about gardening but if you’re willing to ask, virtually everyone I meet is a card-carrying expert. These people know their vegetables. They’ll spend as much time with you as you like and dispense their wisdom with a smile. Good people. One of the things I like so much, here in the South. Homegrown friendly folk. Folks down here take their gardening seriously. Not just the farmers either. Every home has its finely manicured patch. Groomed and perfect as any PGA golf course. There may be an old sofa and defunct washing machine sitting on the front porch but their gardens are a different matter. They are meticulous. Rows of corn stand like soldiers in perfect columns at attention, robust tomatoes and impressive beans, melons and squash decorate the landscape. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I don’t want to disappoint my friends.

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We got off to a funny start. Hilarious really. April and I decided one Saturday that this would be the day to get our seeds in the ground. An early planting followed by a plentiful harvest would ensure these settlers of surviving the winter. We were geeked! With spade and rakes in hand we troded down to our patch as comrades on a mission. A tinge of nervousness barked at my consciousness. “We have to get this right, I thought” Glancing up at the road 300 feet away I quickly realized that we, or more correctly, our garden would be on display. The locals will be watching. The progress of the Yankees, turned Southerners, would be closely monitored. Even worse, there is the general store situated kiddy corner from us. Each and every visitor will surely cast a glance our way. I’m not one to fret over keeping up with the Jones’s but I did want to show my good neighbors that we could do this, and do it well. Half way thru our planting it began to rain and then a virtual downpour.
There was no stopping us. We kept planting. I cast my gaze over at the general store just long enough to realize that a number of our neighbors, safe and dry under the awning of the store were watching us. Feeling a bit foolish, I thought, “Oh, well, at least they know how serious we are.” When we finished, April and I had our picture taken, standing like the Ma and Pa picture, complete with pitchforks in hand.

We brooded over our plantings. Our watchful eyes never strayed too far from the garden. Without the protective covering of a scarecrow, and under the cover of darkness, marauding creatures, pirates of the night, sought to pillage our horticultural experiment. All in all, we didn’t fair too bad.
Imagine how proud we were when our garden sprang to life? I’ve never been so excited over a simple green bean or a cute little cucumber. Silly but true.
Our first harvest produced some 1500 ears of Peaches and Cream corn, generous amounts of tomatoes, squash, green beans, onions, peppers, cucumbers and even Haley’s watermelon. Some of the best you’ve ever tasted!
Well, it’s that time of year again. Today I went out and bought a top of the line Poulan 5 horsepower rotor tiller. Yep, we’re hooked! All things considered, our garden is probably not the best economic choice, but money just can’t buy these simple pleasures.

Paul Steven / Blog / May 2006
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