Teeney carrots harvested 60 days after they were supposed to be ready.
This year I had the grandest of ambitions. It began in February; buying seeds, planning the layout of the garden, creating a starting station that took up half my kitchen. Every year I have a motive, or end goal, for the harvest. Nothing is more rewarding than eating fabulous dish made entirely from things you've grown yourself. This year it was tomatillo salsa and a summer full of produce that filled my imaginings.
Had I been thinking clearly, I would have known it was destined to fail from the get go. The first batch of seedlings sprouted delightfully. They grew and grew until the demise was inevitable, caused by a grower who had little to no understanding of light needs for seedlings. Plants need light? Of course! Years ago a Biology Prof told me that indoor lighting was effective for plants so I thought no more about it. At least, not until they grew tall as can be to reach the overhead lights and then collapsed, incapable of supporting their enormous stature. I suppose he didn't mean artificial light in a basement with little to no natural light suplementing it...
Round 2 involved a plant light, mounted beneath the cupboards which house our everyday use kids plastic Ikea plates, and was moderately more effective. The seedlings grew more roots, were less gigantic, and seemed more stable in their newly budding life. Until they started to wilt, and brown, and travel paths of much slower demise.
Round 3 started summer as seed, cast into the ground with faint hopes and glorious wishes. I figured that, if nothing else, I could still get some zucchini. As summer draws to an end and the reality of fading harvest chances hits with full force, I must claim the defeat that is mine. Truthfully, I do have some tomatillos that may be ripe before father winter blesses us with our first frost. The zucchini? Nada. The watermelon? Zip. Gourds, peppers, tomatoes, snap beans, pumpkins, and all manner of healthful yumminess? Ix-nay on the arvest-hay.
At least a new planting season will dawn again with the new spring. Perhaps this time we'll be able to harvest the sun.
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1 comments:
Oh, this made me laugh!! When I was in the first grade I won the county science fair for my project on growing grass- where I determined that light wasn't entirely necessary to grow grass, as I my grass seeds became grass even though I kept them in a dark closet, with only water. So I would think that veggies would be okay, too. But I'm glad you told me, because I had plans for a winter inside garden.
Tell me how you're going to do the pumpkins!
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