That time again...

It’s that time again. The time when, instead of green, everything is brown and crispy and forlorn… The time when I go out to my garden to “inspect” and find myself thinking longingly of little green shoots and the smell of growing plants instead of bare earth… It’s the time when I seem to forget things like earwigs, bindweed, and an over-abundance of green beans… I forget about trying to climb into and through huge, bristly tomato plants, forget about the chore that watering can become… I forget about secretly hoping in October that a frost will come and end it for the year. Oh, this is what is going on in my mind in January.


And then what happens when I am in this vulnerable position? Yes, that’s right – seed catalogs start arriving!

Suddenly I start reading about all the new varieties of all kinds of garden plants, and I begin to have delusions of grandeur. Surely, I must try melons again - no matter that last time I did they tasted of sand… And okra – I need to grow okra. And what about growing several varieties of beans for drying – imagine being able to eat our own beans in hearty soups next fall and winter! This year I will start my tomatoes from seed! – and plant them early! – and grow enough to have lots to can! – enough to supply our tomato needs all year!! This year I will outsmart the wily squirrels and protect my strawberries – yes we will have a big strawberry harvest this year!

The difficulties seem small – surely bindweed isn’t that indestructible – the promise endless… So once again I will make a plan, order some seeds, and give it my best shot. Ask me about it again come October...