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Gardening

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Johnm:
Hi all,
I wondered if any of you Weenies were into gardening.  I'm kind of new to it, but my wife has been into it for a number of years.  When she ordered ten yards of compost earlier this spring, shoveling and moving it got me into the gardening pretty quickly.  So far we've had a good harvest of several varieties of lettuce and have peas, potatos, beans, cabbage, beets and some more exotic vegetables on the way.  It looks like we're going to have a lot of raspberries and boysenberries, too.  It's hard to grow full-sized tomatoes in western Washington--it doesn't really get hot enough, but I think we might get some this year.  It has been unusually dry for the past three weeks or so, and we're hoping for some good rain soon.  Is anybody else tending a garden?
All best,
Johnm

Slack:
Hi Johnm,

I started to do a little gardening this year.  Last summer I took out a diseased elm tree and as a result I have a nice sunny spot for a small garden.  the spot needs enriching however, so I started a compost pile in January and have dumped one load of compost on and will do another before putting in a fall garden.  In the meantime I'm growing some stuff in pots - tomatoes, jalapenos and various herbs - basil, parsley, chives etc.  Not much, but a start.

dj:
I'm very much a gardener, though at present we're only growing flowers, no vegetables - too much shade and too many deer led us to finally give up the last of the veggies several years ago.  John, you make me long for a few rows of rhubarb, tomatoes, and lettuce.  There's nothing like eating stuff that's been picked an hour ago.
  

Mr.OMuck:
Living on the 19th floor here in NYC albeit with a small outdoor terrace limits our gardening enterprises, but I love looking at them and eating out of them. My mother's brother, uncle Dave, last of my parents generation, died two years ago but before he did I visited him at his double wide outside of Ellsworth Maine. he had a stupendous garden. I was pumping him for information about my mother's family's life during the depression. They were dirt poor, living in NYC. They experienced real hunger. At one point during the discussion Dave pointed at the ground and said "Ya can't grow nothin' in concrete". Gardening is not only good for the soul, its one of the most essential survival skills.

Stuart:
My wife has claimed squatters' rights to part of the property behind our apartment and has been faithfully tilling the soil for several planting seasons. She grows various kinds of veggies and some herbs. Some of her hybrids rival those of Luther Burbank. Last year she planted the zucchini and the pumpkins too close to each other. They interbred, with "pumpkinis" being the resulting offspring. She's Chinese, so she knows how to get the most from every square inch of land. And she enjoys the visitors?hummingbirds and flickers came by this morning. At night it's opossums and raccoons.

I know what you mean about the Northwest not having the climate needed for tomatoes and other varieties that those of us from the Northeast grew up on. Being from The Garden State, I really miss the homegrown tomatoes, corn, beans, watermelon, etc. that do so well back there.

In the current economic environment, we often hear about people getting back to the basics and planting their own gardens. I look upon it as a return to sanity and common sense. Where (and when) I grew in NJ, some people would have gardens in their front yards instead of a lawn during the spring and summer growing season.

When you and Ginny are out there working the land, keep in mind the old saying, "Forty Acres and a Mule," but just make sure that you don't end up being the mule!

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