New Attempts At Gardening - Oh The Memories - Gardening with Grandma

The good thing about blogging – you can pick up anytime you want and add fresh new posts.

 

My current endeavors include gardening. Do any of you garden? What exactly is gardening? Lots of memories in this head of mine involving gardens. Last night I was talking with my mom, we probably spent 45 min discussing it. The smile my face was wearing the whole time was so important to me. 

 

When I think of gardening I think of my mom’s family. They all had gardens. This little town in Kansas is called Goodland. That’s where they were all from, well I mean they are originally from the Wichita area but that’s splitting hairs.

Goodland, Ks, this is where my gardening memories start. My grandmother had the most beautiful backyard you’d ever see. It was quintessential mid-west. They had a beautiful patio that I just wished I could duplicate. Their yard was massive and the garage the prettiest red shade you can picture. But, along her back fence, that was where the real magic happened. 

 

I would be lying if I knew the real dimensions, but it had to at least be 10x30 feet, this garden. I close my eyes and can picture the summer days with crops sprouting and waiving in the air. As a little girl, my best memory was going into her garden and eating her tomatoes. My mother told me last night that this particular habit of mine started when I had just learned to walk, at our at-home garden in Wichita.

 

Maybe that’s why this memory makes me smile so much, it is one that ties me to my mother and my grandmother. All I want is a tomato plant of my own now, 38 years later. 

 

Since I’ve been married almost every year I have dreamed of my own garden like Grandma had. Two years ago, I started too late in the season and all I was able to make grow was a pumpkin vine that only had female buds, so no pumpkins grew. Last year was way more successful. I had 20 different items planted and they all sprouted and looked great. And then the blasted April showers hit, and it rained for 3 weeks. My poor garden didn’t survive. I was able to harvest 1 successful cucumber and 3 green beans.

 

Needless to say, it was not a successful harvest,

This year I am prepared. I researched and looked for outdoor greenhouses and I think I will like the one I settled on. It is a 12x8 footprint. Perfect for the above grounds I currently have in the yard and ample room to add the fruit pants I plan on putting in pots. 

 

Tonight is the night, I have a couple seedlings to transplant that I started on my counter inside a few weeks back, but the bulk of my crop will be planted as seeds. The lettuce and broccoli did not survive the countertop, so I must restart those. I have 3 tomato plants started; I hope to see them flourish. My son seems just as excited as I am about this venture so I hope he and I can do this together. That would be a lot of fun. 

 

When I was talking with my mom last night, she told me I should blog about this experience. That’s the first thing in a while that sparked some creative juices in me. Maybe because it ties me to my grandmother, who I miss terribly. She died during Hurricane Harvey and my world has been lacking a lot without her in it. I called her brother last week, my great uncle, and asked him for some help on my seedlings. He has a non-profit farm in Denver and helps to feed the population up there. Unfortunately, he says Denver and Houston are too different and I would have better luck going to a nursery for help. Apparently, climates really do play a huge factor in it.

 

Not sure how much I will blog, but I do think I will. I love journaling my experiences, that way I can always look back and remember. Plus, this blog is called ‘Memories in a Box’ and this is literally memories from my past being transformed into a box of dirt!

 

Momma was right, I should blog about this.

 

Today is going to be a great day and I just can’t wait to see what my garden has in store for me in 3 months. 

 

I’ve never had the pleasure of feeding my family food I have grown on my own, and I am thrilled to experience that for the first time. We live on a pretty great size lot and maybe one day the dream of self-sufficient fruits and veggies can partially come true.

 

Although I hear banana trees bring in snakes, therefore I will happily continue to buy those at Aldi’s.

 

I’d love to hear your experiences with gardening or tips and tricks, please leave a comment below.

The Greenhouse - pre planting!

Here is a carrot I found leftover in the garden this weekend when I was cleaning. Imagine my surprise!