The following summer, Ruth, the three kids, and I planted a garden in a community plot a few miles from our house. We thought it would be a good learning experience for David, Elizabeth and Michael. The gardening project was sponsored by Jackson Community College. The college prepped the land, provided access to water, and critter proofed the area as best they could.
The kids did the planting while Ruth and I supervised. We opted for carrots, radishes, and cantaloupe. We thought the radishes and carrots would be protected underground. Ruth liked cantaloupe so that’s the reason they were planted. We inspected and weeded the garden about once a week and hoped mother nature would provide ample amounts of water when we neglected the crop. Ruth and the kids did most of the work. The carrots and radishes were harvested during their regular visits and Ruth monitored the cantaloupe with great anticipation.
On their next to last trip to the garden Ruth determined the cantaloupe needed one more day to be perfect. When Ruth and the kids arrived the following day to harvest their spoils, they discovered some mean-spirited person had smashed the crop. He’d eaten one cantaloupe, left the hollow rind in the field and smashed the rest.
Several years later, after the kids were grown and Ruth and I were home alone, I planted some tomatoes. We both loved fresh grown Michigan tomatoes. One of our favorite summer meals is a good BLT and sweet corn. I thought growing our own tomatoes would make our meals even better.
I selected beefsteak tomatoes because that’s what I remember my dad bringing home from Detroit’s Eastern Market for mom to can. I placed the plants in four containers near the bottom of the stairs leading from the deck above. Water was close at hand, so caring for them was a breeze. Everything went well until the plants started showing signs of an impending harvest. One night the deer came in and ate every plant down to the roots. All was lost.
While driving back from Florida this spring, I decided to give my green thumb another try. Our new condo has a deck just off the kitchen. It’s a full story from the ground with no access from below. We wouldn’t have to worry about the plentiful deer gaining access to our crop. They can’t jump that high.
I went to the local garden center and purchased my supplies. I sought advice and followed the gardener’s directions to the letter. I left the store with a large pot, a bag of black soil, a wire tomatoe cage, and a single plant. The plant grew about an inch a day, so I added a green plant stake to help stabilize the growth. I’d spent a total of $25.00 and looked forward to this year’s harvest.
When the plant was about two feet tall, dozens of blossoms appeared overnight. Another week passed before the first tomato appeared and things ground to a halt. The blossoms were intact, but not a single additional tomato developed. Ruth suggested some fertilizer might help the crop, so I fertilized the plant. The next day the plant started to fail. I’d been too liberal with the fertilizer.
I continued to water the plant each morning, hoping time would rectify my error. I watched the green leaves turn brown and removed them as they died. The single green tomato remained unchanged. About a week ago, it started to turn red. We watched each day and celebrated its survival. We harvested and ate the $25.00 tomato last Sunday. Ruth and I shared a total of three bites.