May 16, 2013

 Dear Jane,

Hi there Rev. Busy Jane. This is your garden. Since we haven’t seen you in a while we thought we would blog you in hopes of getting some attention.  We (flower beds, vegetable garden, compost piles, red wigglers) are patiently awaiting your appearance this spring.

By mid-May in previous years we are producing fresh greens, tender radishes, peas, and small beets; your grow lights are humming and nurturing young cabbage and pepper plants; your mini outdoor greenhouse is full of gourd and winter squash seedlings; and you have been to the nursery several times. This year? Nada. And you consider yourself a Master Gardener?

Still, it won’t take too much to get us going this year. In late October you layered on an impressive amount of composted manure. The late snows and the current rain storms worked wonders, and the soil microorganisms are stretching and awakening. The compost piles you created in the fall are ready to be turned. The problem is that the weeds like the great garden environment too, so you better get out and do some more weeding before they take over. We do appreciate you hiring a helper to weed before you left, but more garden bullies are flexing their muscles.

As an enticement, let us remind you that the asparagus plants are sending up their tender shoots. The rhubarb is ready for harvesting, and the thought of a rhubarb cobbler should be enough to send you flying out here. We also offer spring garlic and parsnips that overwintered from last fall. The carrots, kale and cabbage that you left out as an experiment are resurrecting and offer hope. Finally, you favorite “second year” onions are strutting around hoping for your favor.

It seems that your other activities are affecting our relationship this year. We thought it best to just go ahead and state our needs using the appropriate I/We language. We do love you and want to please you with luscious harvests.

We need quite a bit of your time; however, our most immediate needs to make this relationship work are as follows:

• The garden beds would like to be raked smooth and layered with a tad bit of sulfur
• The pathways would like the rest of the weeds removed
• The flower beds that didn’t get cleaned out need work
• We all need seeds planted so we can do our job

Please respond at your earliest convenience. At the very least, let us know you still care.

 Respectfully yours,

 Garden

 Dear Garden,

Thank you for your blog. You are always on my mind. I think about ripe tomatoes, tender green beans, and fresh spinach. I drool at the thought of rhubarb cobbler. I notice the hollyhocks and lilies pushing their way skyward. I can’t wait for an abundance of flowers. I care very much.

The timing was all wrong this year. I was ready to dig in but the late snow storms prevented me from doing anything. Then, I had already scheduled two weeks’ vacation for late April/early May, like I did last year. It worked then because I had time to get you going before I left, and then set the watering system on a timer so you could all do your work while I traveled. As a reminder of how well it all worked, see these notes from last year.

I hear your needs. I am back now from my travels and won’t leave you again till you are nearly done for the season. We won’t have any early cool season crops, but there is still plenty of time for all the classic warm season stuff (summer squash, winter squash, tomato, eggplant, beans). I am even planning on corn this year.  I promise also that we will do some cool season stuff later in the summer, for fall harvest. I have plenty of seeds already and can’t wait to feel the soft earth again.

My problem right now is time. In the next 10 ten days I have two weddings/rehearsals, a baptism, a confirmation meeting, two sermons, a Trustee meeting, VBS planning,  reports, other meetings and 5K training. However, I am off Monday/Tuesday and promise to spend most of that time with you. From then on, I commit to an hour a day for weeding and other care. Will that meet your needs? Please consult with all the beds and let me know.

 In solidarity,

 Jane

 Dear Jane,

We conferred and all we can say is WOO HOO! See you Monday.

With hopes of fruitfulness,

Garden