the high's & low's of home gardening

most of the time you will hear me speaking very fondly of my garden. however, there are moments of complete and utter frustration. growing your own really is a labor of love and i always tell people that if you are not willing to put in the work, don't bother. gardening is not just throwing some seeds in the ground and calling it a day, you have to commit to nurturing those seedlings, keep them safe from all sorts of things. the other night i went out to check out my garden and do a little weeding. i had neglected to place three of my tomato plants in cages because i was trying to see how they would handle their own weight. well, i found them face down on the ground as if they had one two many and in general, looking very pitiful. in a mad dash, i placed the kids in the car and ran up to home depot so that i could rescue my tomato plants. after all, i am desperately relying on these plants to provide me with fresh sauce all winter long this year. i came back from the store, i placed the cages around them, i was feeling great. then i noticed the storm clouds above me. i rush inside and all of a sudden it's pouring. great. fine. my garden needed to be watered. when the rain ended i looked out the window to a bunch of very sad looking plants. the rain had trampled them to the point where some had fallen completely over. so again, i ran outside and although everything was wet, picked them back up and fixed the soil around them so that i wouldn't lose anything. on the upside though, everything is starting to show me progress. i have been harvesting lettuce for over a month, i now have eight heads of purple white cauliflower, i was lucky enough to gather three bags of radishes, i have snap peas and green beans ready for the picking. and all around i have little mini cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, more green beans and broccoli is going to be ready any day now, forty eight heads of it. that feeling of stepping outside and seeing the lush garden, filled with food that i planted, makes me so happy that it replaces all those feelings of frustration. i suppose, that's what it's all about. sometimes things work out nicely and sometimes they don't. i've had lots of moments that resulted in throwing plants into the woods but more moments when i run in the house to show my family the latest thing ready for the picking. my point is: even if you are starting a garden or if you are mid way and feeling like it's never going to work out, don't give up on it. that garden will surprise you when you least expect it. trust me. and then, your heart will be filled with happiness and veggies.