Published: April 08, 2009 08:55 am      

Spring brings new life to garden

Spring is a time for new life. The dawning of warmer days brings plants to life from their winter slumber. My iris and tulips, which are coming up in my yard, are perfect examples that winter’s grip on the landscape is loosening. I am so glad! This has been a very cold and long winter. I am itching to get outside and play in my garden.

My garden is not your typical one. Last year, it was a little under a quarter of an acre. I planted everything I could think of. There were watermelons, tomatoes, potatoes; which were my favorite; muskmelon, zucchini, beans, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, cabbage, broccoli, strawberries, pumpkins, cucumbers, radishes, onions and lima beans. For the amount of produce I garnered, you would have thought 12 people lived at my house. There is nothing more satisfying than eating fresh veggies from your garden.

My baked potatoes were divine topped with fresh green peppers and onion. There were nights when my supper was literally free except for the buckets of sweat that were poured over my crops. I may be exaggerating a bit, but you get the picture.

I was in my garden every day picking produce or watering. There came a point toward the end of summer when I wished Jack Frost would come bless my garden with a cool breeze so I could get a much-needed break. But, for the most part, I enjoyed the experience.

I will be breaking ground soon to plant my potatoes. Last year, I had 53 plants. Yes, I said 53, not five or three. I had a lot of fun harvesting them. It is pretty cool to pull up a plant, dig into the ground and find about four large potatoes. As you can see, I may need to get out more.

This year I plan to plant more — possibly around 70. I am going to try pole beans to save my back and seedless red tomatoes, which is a new item in my seed catalog. My parents don’t tolerate seeds very well so this will be a great addition to my vegetable family.

I am proud to say that this year I will get strawberries. I am very excited. I love strawberry pie topped with cool whip or my favorite, Whitey’s ice cream.

I am still enjoying pickle relish and bread and butter pickles that my mom and I made this summer. There is nothing better than homemade pickles. I like them alone just as a snack.

Over the years, I have made a point to always include one thing in my garden — sunflowers. I love driving up the road to my house and seeing them from a distance. They are truly amazing. I started planting sunflowers as a kid at my grandparents’ farm. I planted them in an ideal place too, right up against the chicken house, which provided plenty of fertilizer.

I will never forget my first gardening experience. When I was in grade school, I participated in a summer 4-H program. My gardening project was a scrawny tomato plant. By the time 4-H came to an end, my tomato plant towered over all the other kids’ and I had fruit to boot. When asked the secret behind my green thumb, I proudly answered chicken fertilizer.

I think my grandfather, who provided the fertilizer, had a good chuckle about that.



Angie Bicker is the lifestyles editor with the Clinton Herald. She has been with the Herald since 2001.