May 28th: veggie garden, WIP

Cleaning up the backyard, I decided, would have to be an ongoing project, and it could take all summer to pull all the weeds and other undesirables. I would have vegetable plants, and I would have them as soon as I could get my butt out to a store that sold such things. Without a real plan or budget in mind, I traipsed off to Wal-Mart (the ninth circle of Hell) and loaded my cart up with the following:

• cherry tomatoes
• green peppers
• red peppers
• lavender
• cilantro
• basil
• strawberries
• blueberries
• a peony bush
• daisies
• zucchini (seeds)
• sunflowers (seeds)
• two bags of topsoil
• pretty printed gardening gloves
• one metal watering can

(I also bought a copy of Inception on DVD, a pair of underwear, a shower cap, and a bottle of Diet Pepsi, none of which are relevant to this particular project. Ahem.)

My husband provided most of the muscle on planting day - (though he shook his head at my request he appear shirtless and leaning wearily on a dirty shovel in a photo for this post) - by turning over the sod to expose soil. I followed close behind, digging with my trowel and putting green leafy infant plants or seeds into the earth. The children ran wild through the yard like sprites with plastic shovels and watering cans in hand, eager to help Mommy and Daddy. A late start and a gloomy sky meant we had to rush just a bit, hence the messiness. My intention was to line the garden with plastic edging, but I had been unable to locate any at Wal-Mart, so that would have to wait.

The majority of the planting was done in region 1, but I also planted a few of the sunflower seeds in the recently cleared region 2. Another note: don't tell PETA, but I sprayed a combination of Tabasco sauce and water on the grass all around the garden and directly on some of the plants, so as to ward off any hungry invaders. It had no effect on most of the plants, but I may have overdone it by spraying the peony, as it eventually discoloured. What a pity. I felt and still feel quite a fool for that move, and I hope the bush grows more flowers, which I vow to leave unseasoned. Pretty please?

Onward germination and photosynthesis!