By Georgia Osten
Lazy Gardner, hmmmm, that name is already taken … I may call myself the “Occasional Gardner.” A few years ago when I begged my husband to build me a garden, I think it was kind of like “my eyes were bigger than my stomach” type of thing. The garden he built for me is so much more than I can handle. Maybe I should turn it into a community garden? I no sooner get through weeding it, when it’s time to turn around and start all over again. I absolutely love it though! There’s nothing more gratifying (and tiring) than growing things you can actually eat. Never mind all the dirt in your fingernails, the sweat rolling down into your eyes, your hair all a mess and your clothes so filthy – it’s all part of gardening.
I’ve had a battle with my okra plants this year. I’m probably on my fourth try. The first try was with seeds. My youngest granddaughter and I started with cups filled with dirt, she planted pumpkins and my okra seeds. It took only a couple of days before they had germinated and we had tiny little plants. Well, those okras didn’t last, I think those pesky cold fronts did them in. Since then, I’ve been trying the okra plants I bought from WalMart or Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Oh, the other day, Addyson asked how her pumpkin plants were doing? Honestly, I had to admit to her that at this point, I don’t know her pumpkin plants from the yellow squash I planted or the cucumbers … time will tell. Anyway, she’s visiting in a few days from North Carolina, I think I’ll just point to one or the other and tell her they “might” be her pumpkins.
The other day, for dinner, I dished out some okra and tomatoes for my husband. “Wow,” he said, “our own okra and tomatoes, fresh from the garden.” Well, no, not quite yet – Kroger has some great fresh okra and Del Monte makes a fantastic can of crushed tomatoes!
GO’s Sand Bucket is only one beach bum’s journal of life at the beach, probably something each of you can relate to. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts, visions and/or feelings of just exactly what the beach means to you.
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