Garden of Neglect

I used to look forward to getting my Burpees catalog every winter. I would pour over the vegetable seeds for several weeks. Every different plant was looked at in the decision on what to plant in the garden. I knew that I would have the standards. There were always tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, green beans, and yellow squash and zucchini. As I became more adept at gardening, I added sweet corn, kohlrabi, carrots, potatoes and winter squash. When we lived in Michigan, I had the rotor-tiller and had set up a 40 by 40 patch of yard with all the vegetables we could want. For an amateur gardener, it was heaven.

When we moved back to Ohio, it was city living and the garden shrunk to the suburban size. There were none of the fancy vegetables, just the basics. After three years of gardening in the big city, I have yet to get a crop of green beans. It is rabbits, too much rain or not enough. My children have been using the garden plot as a place to dump their pumpkins after Halloween and I had vines take over the garden this summer. I was very devout at weeding but missed some nights due to ball games and the next time I looked out, I couldn’t see the plants. It was a complete disaster this year. I got a few summer squash and zucchini, a few tomatoes, a few green peppers and a lot of small pumpkins that are fit for decoration but not carving.

I am thinking about giving up gardening for a few years. I know that my major problem is time. My children are into everything. Between sports, music, school, and their extra curricular activities, it is a rush to get somewhere every night. I have no time of my own. It is frustrating but also satisfying. I know what it is like to crave that kind of attention and not get it. I do not sit at my children’s practices like some parents do but I ensure that they get there on time and I am usually early to pick them up so I can watch how they are doing. So, as some of the things I enjoy doing take a hiatus, other more important things take precedence. I can always go to Meijer and get cucumbers but you only get one shot to participate in the lives of your children. At church on Sunday, the sermon talked about how you need to participate fully in life, that this is not practice. I guess you can look at parenting that way. I can always take up gardening again but my children will only grow up once.

Icool

Cobb