My Gardening Experience

The first of my tomato crop was harvested several weeks ago and it was sooooo exciting! I remember so well when my grandmother lived with us when I was a child and she loved her flower garden so much. My mom worked full-time and didn't seem to have an interest, but as Momma got older, she developed that green thumb and still grows some of the most beautiful flowers ever.

Now it is my turn. I had no interest in growing things until the last few years, mainly because whenever I brought a plant home, it didn't live very long. Now I have a great interest, not only in my flowers, but my vegetable garden. I started a few years ago with a lone tomato plant in a large pot on my patio. I continued the tomato plant in a pot concept for a few years, but did add a garden plot last year with cucumbers, bell peppers, squash and green beans.

Over the winter, I saved compost materials to enrich the soil and my husband tilled it all under and we added some other good organic materials and I have had greater success, but still have a long way to go. I'm trying desperately to keep my garden organic - even subscribing to an organic gardening magazine. This year, I planted two tomato plants in my garden plot, along with green beans, cucumbers, field peas, squash, bell peppers (red, green and yellow). My husband wanted to add some fruit, so we had strawberries, cantaloupe, and watermelon.

It is my nature to get very excited over things, so my co-workers have to hear whenever I harvest something - in fact, they sometimes hear it over and over as different people come in our office and I tell it again and again.

I can see where preparing the soil and keeping the weeds out is so important to the whole process - kind of like in our spiritual development. Won't it be interesting to see how my garden and my life develop with the right care over the years?!.