My “vegetable garden” (really, just some planters on the front balcony) didn’t work out so well this year. Everything was cruising merrily along when I left for Amsterdam: beans, cucumbers, sunflowers, morning glories, mint, strawberries that held over from last year, even a chayote that had just been sprouting all of its own accord on the kitchen counter, so I tossed it in the dirt and soon it was kicking the ass of everything else.
Then, well. I went to Amsterdam.
The person who was supposed to water the plants in the ten days when there was no one home (coinciding with some of the hottest, most rainless days of summer) came over and said, “Huh–I don’t see more than one plant here to water. I guess I’ll water that, and go home.”
He, um, never looked outside.
Anyway, when I got back, the veg plants were all dried to rustly brown. Even the killer chayote had bitten the dust. That’s what I get for all my Euro-galavanting.
After some watering, the mint bounced back, sort of–a guest recently asked, “Is this a special kind of mint, that the leaves are so tiny?”
I knew there wasn’t much time–it was the end of July–but I replanted bean and cucumber seeds, and some lettuce. It gave me a little something to run out and look at in the morning.
In the end, the yellow wax-bean plants did bust out a meager harvest.
And I got one more handful after that. Unfortunately, in the process, I remembered that I don’t really like yellow wax beans. I mean, they look great in a salad, but they don’t taste like all that much. But they made a valiant effort, and I appreciate them for it!
The strawberry plants started to grow back a little too. I got one wee berry off them, but fed it to Peter before I could take a photo. Later this week, I suppose I’ll snip off the midget lettuce leaves. And there are about three cucumbers, the size of pencil erasers.
Next summer. There’s always next summer…
Dude, what about the missplaced grow box that fell off the porch in high wind (luckily not killing a baby who could have been crawling by right then)? That didn’t help the plants at all.
Ah, that was just one box–the beans. And the box landed upright. And baby, schmaby.
That fat wax bean on the top of the pile? I want to eat it right out of your hand. It looks delicious.
In my experience, strawberries grow like crazy, even if you didn’t have too many the previous summer. The seeds spread with the wind, too, so you’re sure to have them next summer, even if you’re growing in containers. I bet you’ll have a ton next summer as long as the Negligent Neighbor doesn’t flake out again.
Really. Who doesn’t look outside when your job is to water plants?!?
Thanks for the solidarity, Marla! And the hope…the thin, thin strings of strawberry hope I’ll cling to till next year.