garden update

thanks to my best ma ma pal, i was just reminded that i haven't updated you guys on the garden in quite some time.

"ma ma weeks" just threw in the towel

after some crazy bug took over her squash.

oh "ma ma weeks", i am right there with you! i don't know how organic tomatoes are not $100 each. it is impossible to keep all the crazy tropical insects off them! i broke down early and bough some eco-chic spray, that didn't do anything! then i was over taken with assassin bugs. i was so scared of the little f'ers. they moved so fast and were aggressive and loved my tomato plant. after doing a bit of research turns out that they were actually helping me keep other bugs away, so i thank them for that, but i was so scared of them. mostly i was afraid the boy was going to get bit in the face, because that's how assassin bugs like to attack, and his face was always right up in my tomato plant. finally, one day i got brave and gangster. what i did to one of these guys looked like that scene from american history x. it was a great way to release some tension, but i might have gone a little over board to prove a point to the other assassin bugs that were watching. you know i was showing dominance over the garden.

none the less the tomato plant reached the end of it's harvest and died. over all it was a huge success. we ate about 20 tomatoes off the plant, so the $5 investment really paid off in the end. i learned some valuable gardening lessons and had some of the most delicious tomatoes ever.

it also gave me the confidence to try out some more gardening. i got into some peppers, pineapple, and strawberries as well. most recently i added some rosemary to my kitchen window sill.

growing what you eat has become something that will be apart of our family forever now. i realized how important it was to me that the boy know that strawberries come off a plant, and not out of a plastic container. i learned that i would rather use a little pesticide in my garden than deal with the preservatives that are covering the produce section at the store. most importantly i've learned a few things about myself:

i feel at peace when i am gardening.

i don't like wearing gloves

because i like to feel the dirt on my hands.

picking up worms with my bare hands

is worth it to see the excitement on the boys face.

someone stole my strawberry.

surprisingly enough, it wasn't the boy. he loves the garden and listens very well about not picking things until they are ready. but i am missing a strawberry...must have been a little birdie. i keep a close count on the fruits of our labor, and it is great to see the strawberries growing and ripening, but it has become increasingly obvious that i need more than one strawberry plant to feed this family. this one a day production isn't cutting it. we currently all take a small bite of our homegrown fruit and pass to the next watering mouth. they are the most delicious berries. on a side note i think that the tomato plant has reached the end of it's life cycle. tomato productions has come to a screeching halt and the plant seems to be self destructing.