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Post by ET on Jun 10, 2014 6:23:07 GMT -5
This past December I lost my best friend who had a profound effect on my life. He was like an older brother that I never had and taught me many facets of the outdoors. One of the things we enjoyed doing together was planting and caring for a garden to enjoy the rewards of fresh vegetables. For a while there I thought that event was history until one day while talking to his widow also a good friend she proposed planting a garden again. At first I was a little hesitant about the idea but deep within I felt a nudge to do so.
When doing anything with my best friend it always seemed to turn into an adventure but in this instance he wasn’t physically there. To start with the fuel line on the old Roto-Tiller was cracked and leaking so the line had to be replaced. This dinosaur for breaking ground was temperamental to start and took some effort to get it up and running. Finally it came to tearing up the ground and this dinosaur was really good at doing that. This is one tenacious tool you have to grab on with two-hands and have some strength to keep it under control, if not it would take you for a joy ride.
Once the ground was tilled 3-times it was nice and loose for planting. Three-weeks later it was time and the first go around with major planting was tomatoes. Earlier I suggested 40-plants would be a nice number and was surprised when my friend’s wife brought out 80-plants. Talk about Déjà-vu because when my friend and I discussed the number of plants we would grow he often increased that number as much as 2-fold.
Well the garden is in and once a week visit to help with weeding/watering is now the norm. Quite often I would think of my friend while doing this and think he would be pleased that the gardening tradition is still being carried on.
Guess what I’m trying to express is that for me visiting a grave site does not allow me to sense that person’s presence from memory but carrying on an activity that was shared sort of brings life back to the memories of a time spent together. To me the later has more meaning because it is more tangible to me.
Ed
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Post by jims on Jun 10, 2014 7:20:35 GMT -5
Well said. Give us some photos as the garden grows.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2014 10:38:41 GMT -5
Great story, way to keep the tradition going, I'm sure your friend is smiling down.
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Post by airborneike on Jun 10, 2014 13:46:45 GMT -5
Good story ET, thanks for sharing.
It seems ironic that most of us must become "old" before we really appreciate the simple and good things in life.
Well said and a great tribute to a friend.
Mike
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Post by ET on Jun 10, 2014 17:57:01 GMT -5
Jims
Will do once a little more progression is seen. Some seeds like the cucumbers are just starting to break out of the ground. Out of the 80-tomato plants 1-plant is struggling to get growing and I’m hoping it will make it. Past gardens we always seemed to lose a few plants for whatever reason but hope this time it’s a perfect score. The beans and other plants are also just making an appearance.
Ohioguy
I too can imagine the smile of approval on my friends face if he could see this.
Airborneike
Yes it is ironic some of us grow old before we appreciate the simple things in life or miss them when they are gone. After a round of addressing the garden my friend and I would enjoy refreshments along with a good chat about many different things. We could talk just about anything and everything. Okay realistically those days are gone but not easily forgotten.
Ed
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Post by pposey on Jun 19, 2014 22:20:00 GMT -5
That's alot of maters,,, I think of my grandmother alot when I am in my garden, we spent alot of time in hers
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Post by ET on Jun 20, 2014 5:03:18 GMT -5
Yesterday was designated weed removal day for the garden and took close to 3-hrs carefully hoeing around plants. After that I tore into the open ground area with a mini roto-tiller to clean it up. Man the weeds have been growing like crazy to claim open ground. I was also impressed with the Honda mini roto-tiller’s aggressiveness tearing up the ground in no time. I was also pleased to see that the one tomato plant that looked like it was in dire straits came around and now is progressing nicely. 80-plants and so far no loses. Boy there is going to be one heck of a tomato crop this year. I’m also curious to see how well the plants like some granule fertilizer 6-12-12. They seem to be responding nicely. Cucumbers appear to be off to a slow start and the squash plants are progressing nicely. First planting of beans is well established and the 2nd planting 2-1/2 weeks later is breaking ground. Even the snow peas in another area are going strong. All in all, the simple garden is developing nicely. Even though my friend is gone this part of his legacy continues for the moment. Sorry about the poor quality of the picture and will generate a few better quality ones as the garden progresses. Attachment DeletedEd
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Post by ET on Jul 21, 2014 19:16:46 GMT -5
Just thought a simple update is in order. The garden has really progressed beyond expectations this year. The only complication to deal with is early tomato blight. Bordo an anti-fungal spray seems to be helping the situation. Have already enjoyed a whack of beans and a lot will be blanched and frozen for a later date. Not seen are a few tomatoes almost ripened. Grape tomatoes have had some numbers already ripened and excellent tasting. Cucumbers are coming nicely and have enjoyed a few already. Squash and zucchini still in maturing process but are progressing nicely. Not seen in photo are raspberries and have been enjoyed for over a week. If my friend was alive he would have enjoyed seeing the results of his legacy. Ed
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2014 19:54:39 GMT -5
Nice! Glad to see all your hard work is paying off. I'm sure your friend is smiling down!
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Post by Richard on Jul 21, 2014 20:31:04 GMT -5
That is a nice looking garden Ed. I am sure your friend would be proud of you. Richard
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Post by jims on Jul 21, 2014 21:16:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the photos.
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Post by ET on Jul 22, 2014 6:44:39 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind encouraging words. My friend also agrees that her late husband would have enjoyed seeing the garden accomplishment. There is more than what meets the eye with gardening that my deceased friend had to look after while I was away working. This lesson is being learned quickly. The tomato plants are classified as indeterminate meaning they will continuously grow until frost moves in. As you can see these plants have had some vigorous leg shaving to remove blight infected leaves and hopefully with continuous growth additional leaves will be generated enough to provide proper nourishment for full fruit development. Regardless there will still be one heck of a crop of tomatoes where 40-plants would have been sufficient. Ed
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Post by Buckrub on Jul 24, 2014 9:20:56 GMT -5
My goodness. You need to call Heinz right now and strike some kind of deal! Wow.
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Post by ET on Aug 3, 2014 5:22:23 GMT -5
This picture is a few days old but as you can see the ripening of tomatoes is now in motion. I’ve had a few and am very pleased with them. Today I’ll be doing some picking for sure and checking for any blight conditions. Once done there will be a toasted tomato sandwich and sliced cucumber lightly salted in the works waiting for me. Ed
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Post by jims on Aug 3, 2014 8:35:15 GMT -5
Nice looking garden.
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Post by rambler on Aug 3, 2014 9:58:31 GMT -5
Very well kept. kudos
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Post by ET on Aug 3, 2014 20:52:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words related to garden appearance. The care is not over demanding if you keep up with it at regular intervals. Around the plants basically the hoe takes care of disrupting weed growth. For larger areas and down the rows before plants mature the mini roto-tiller chews up the ground quickly in no time.
The big care is against fungal bacteria say for early tomato blight. A treatment I should have started earlier for better results. Okay lesson learned without any major upsets as far as still producing a nice tomato crop but am preparing (arming) for next year with study notes on the subject. A game plan is already coming together.
I am thoroughly enjoying my time with this garden and sometimes look over my shoulder sort of expecting to see my deceased friend to be there as I have so often experienced in the past. Of course the realization he is gone quickly brings me back to reality but doesn’t take away the satisfaction of what is produced in the garden as if we did it together.
Ed
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