I am officially turning into my mother. An acquaintance pointed it out last month when she said she was shocked I wrote about scrapbooks. While I fail to see how gold picture corners and rock ‘n’ roll are intrinsically opposed, I can see her point. Last month it was scrapbooks. Over spring break, it was spring cleaning. And on Friday, I eagerly browsed the gardening section at Smith Family Bookstore. Those spades are thrillas.
A friend of mine recently planted a tiny vegetable garden in a planter on her postage-stamp apartment deck. With my column deadline fast approaching and no ideas in sight, I stole hers. Planting season is starting, and growing vegetables seems very D.I.Y. in a Victory Garden kind of way.
The more I thought about it, however, the more excited I was at the thought. I’m brown thumb all over the place, as proved by many failed attempts at raising houseplants. Growing food, however, is different. I have vivid childhood memories of the sweet smell of fresh dirt, the sun on my back while sowing seeds, and snap peas fresh from the backyard. Houseplants just sit around looking green and pretty, but fruits and vegetables are workhorses. They produce something useful, something to look forward to. Growing a garden is like growing a baby — except then you eat it. I am confident my little neonate will live through the summer.
And it will be little. I have a huge backyard now, but I’ll be moving in July to an apartment with limited space. I want to be able to take my produce with me, so I’m planting in containers. Container gardening is an easy way to grow in small spaces with almost guaranteed success. It is an “adventurous undertaking, complete with thrilling risks and extraordinary rewards,” Barbara Pleasant wrote in the National Home Gardening Club’s guide to container gardens. Stop laughing, this is serious. Pleasant knows what’s up. She is guiding me into a brave new world of parsley, cherry tomatoes and leafy greens.
After finding a few books for advice, I set out to find some starter plants. Some vegetables are slow growers, so it’s best to buy starters instead of seeds. Herbs, especially, should be bought as starters.
I wove my way through the patchouli clouds and the muu muu booth at the first Saturday Market. I picked up basil, parsley, oregano and chive transplants, as well as cherry tomato and snow pea plants and lettuce. I’m growing carrots and onions from seeds. Starters can be picked up at any nursery, but I wanted to buy organic, directly from a small, local farm.
Containers can also be bought at nurseries, but a more cost-effective and
earth-friendly way is to go to Bring Recycling Center. Bring is one of the oldest
non-profit recycling centers in the country and takes in nearly 40 tons of used material per month. In addition to stacks of doors and glass and old car parts, they have all sorts of gardening pots. If you’re willing to search through the labyrinth of junk, you can pick out more interesting vessels. I found two old feta cheese tins with colorful designs to pot my tomatoes in. I lined a wood crate with plastic window screen for my peas and carrots. I also bought five pots and two tomato cages. Total cost: $1.
I haven’t potted my plants yet. I’m keeping them in their plastic starter pots until the weather warms up. It is too cold outside for the lettuce and peas, and it won’t be warm enough for the tomatoes until late spring or early summer. I’ll take the cold weather plants outside on sunny days as long as there is the danger of frost. Until then, they’ll sit in a sun-filled window. Vegetables require about eight hours of sunshine per day to grow good produce, though lettuce can grow on only four or five hours of light.
I spoke with my mom on Saturday and realized I still have a ways to go before I truly become her. While we both gardened that day, only I bought stiletto heels.